A damp, cloudy, chilly Easter Saturday in prospect. Sunday will be the pick of the long weekend with some sunny spells, but then rain, sleet and snow moves northeast on Easter Monday.
March is ending on a changeable note, so prospects for today especially over England and Wales are poor. In a mixed rather cold Easter tomorrow generally will be drier, but with the air of polar origin, it'll feel chilly in any breeze. Later on, Sunday outbreaks of rain move into the South and South West spreading North on Easter Monday preceded by snow over the Pennines and perhaps at lower levels for a while from the Midlands northward. This we will need to keep an eye on.
It's cloudy this morning, so sunshine is in short supply. We also have bursts of rain over much of England, Wales and South East Scotland and it's cold enough for some snow over the Pennines and the Southern Uplands.
Radar earlier this morning - view the latest here.
Through the day the rain will become lighter and more patchy, but it'll remain mostly cloudy. Only the far South East and South at first where some heavy showers are likely for a while and later Cumbria, the far South West and Cardigan Bay are likely to see any brightness where it's mainly dry at the moment. Northern Ireland and the rest of Scotland also have a lot cloud and a few showers, these mainly across Northern Isles and North Scotland where a few are wintry. Here though it'll become brighter and mainly dry, with sunny intervals coming through particularly later in the day.
Winds light at first across the South East will be mostly moderate from North East or North, but fresh and blustery along North Sea coasts from Hull to the Firth of Forth. Over Highland and West Scotland, there'll be lighter breezes, but it'll feel cold in the wind everywhere, with top temperatures only 5 to 7C in the North and 9 or maybe 10C towards the South coast and over parts of South East England.
There'll be further patchy light rain across southern and eastern parts of England into the evening, but this'll fade overnight. This may allow skies to break in places towards morning, but most regions keep a good deal of cloud. A Northerly wind fresh along some North Sea coasts at first will also decrease. Elsewhere there'll be more broken skies and lighter breezes, with clear spells especially across Scotland, Northern Ireland and North West England allowing a slight frost to form particularly in rural areas. A few mist or fog patches may also develop towards dawn as temperatures generally fall to between -2 and +3C.
Easter Sunday will see the driest of the Bank Holiday weather, but eastern areas, in particular, may be rather cloudy especially at first with a few light showers mostly towards North Sea coasts. For most though, it'll be a dry day start to the new month with variable amounts of cloud. There'll be some sunshine especially over Scotland, Northern Ireland and in the West, but it won't be particularly warm with a mostly light North or North Easterly breeze feeling chilly.
As a result, temperatures will get no higher than 5 to 8C in the North and 8 to 10 locally 11C in the South, but it'll feel pleasant enough at times in the sunny spells there'll be on offer. Through the afternoon the South West and far South will see increasing cloud and the Channel Islands will turn wet, with this type of weather spreading to Devon and Cornwall later and perhaps to parts of Dorset and Hampshire before sunset, in a freshening and cold Easterly wind.
Scotland continues dry after dark with clear spells, in a gentle northerly breeze. A widespread frost and a few mist or fog patches will form in sheltered glens, as temperatures fall to -3 to +1C. Much of northern England will also have a clear, frosty evening before a biting easterly breeze develops ahead of cloud moving up from the South overnight. Elsewhere it'll be cloudy and feel raw, as an Easterly wind freshens.
This'll bring outbreaks of rain from the South, and as this comes in contact with the cold air further North, it'll turn to snow over the Peak District and perhaps the Staffordshire Moors, with sleet or wet snow even possible at lower levels later in the night.