After a dull week for many, today at least brings some sunshine. Showery rain moves up from the southwest tomorrow though. An unsettled start to next week will then give way to some proper Spring warmth.
After some of the miserable weather of this week, many of us would be forgiven for thinking it was November than rather than April, but today sees the beginning of a no doubt welcome change to something a little brighter and warmer. There'll even be some sunshine, the first for almost a week in some parts, but we still have a fair amount of cloud and some mist and patchy fog to clear this morning, so we're not quite out of the woods just yet.
It's a mainly dry start with some places beginning fine, but for most, you're waking yet again to mostly cloudy skies. The cloud is thinner than of late however and will break more readily today, with most parts at least eventually seeing some sun despite cloud amounts continuing to vary. As a general rule, where you already have sunshine you'll tend to see more cloud later, but where it begins dull, it'll tend to brighten with some sunlight coming through later. Most parts will stay dry, but through the afternoon, the South East, places to the South of the M4, perhaps South Wales and Suffolk may see a few locally heavy showers developing possibly with thunder.
Winds generally will be light, and from a southerly quarter and with much of the recent mist and murk now gone, eastern coastal counties, in particular, will be noticeably milder. Top temperatures over Scotland and Northern Ireland will be in the range 11 to 14C, with 15 to 17C perhaps locally a rather warm 18C more likely over much of England and Wales.
The South East and parts of East Anglia may see further scattered locally sharp showers into the evening, that'll fade only slowly overnight. Most other parts stay dry after dark, with skies breaking sufficiently in places to give clear intervals. Later in the night, a freshening South Easterly wind ahead of an Atlantic system will bring bursts of rain to the South West and the West and South of Wales. It's not expected to be a cold night though, with lowest temperatures mostly in the range 4 to 8C.
Sunday will be breezier and somewhat more unsettled, with the brightest weather in the East once residual showers have moved away from parts of East Anglia. Wales, the South West, central southern England and Northern Ireland will see locally heavy, showery bursts of rain, this probably spreading to all but North East England and the North and East of Scotland by the end of the day, where it should continue to be mostly dry. Following on behind into Wales, the South West and Northern Ireland later will be somewhat brighter conditions, although still with scattered showers.
A moderate or fresh southerly wind may give strong gusts over exposed western coasts and hills in a less mild day. It'll still feel reasonably pleasant though in brighter spells and where you have shelter, with afternoon temperatures 11 to 13C in the North and 14 to 16C further South.
Bursts of rain spread to remaining parts of North East England after dark, with a mixture of clear intervals and scattered showers these mostly towards the South coast and in the West following on behind. Much of Scotland also sees some rain, that should have cleared from all but the North by dawn to leave broken skies. A moderate or fresh South or South Westerly wind continues to give strong or gale force gusts over exposed western coasts and hills, but in a mild night, temperatures shouldn't fall below 6 to 9C.
The West and North will tend to be more unsettled, but at long last, there are now real signs of spring, as it turns increasingly finer and warmer into the new working week. By mid-week, it'll be finer in most parts, with temperatures reaching the mid-twenties Celsius in the warmest spots.