Plenty of rain around today but from tomorrow pressure begins to rise as we head towards a mostly fine, sunny and warm holiday weekend.
As I sit here with the rain pouring down outside, it seems a bit strange to start this morning's update with news of warm weather and sunshine, but let's live a little and do it anyway. Once today is out of the way, pressure will be starting to rise through the remainder of the week, meaning that by the time we reach the bank holiday weekend, sunny weather and increasingly warm temperatures will be the theme.
Before we get to the details of that shock news though, we do have weather fronts moving through from west to east today, bringing a spell of persistent and, at times, heavy rain. Behind it, the cloud will break to leave sunny spells, but there will be a fair few showers running into northern and western regions in particular.
The winds will be blustery through the day, but especially as the persistent rain is overhead. As it moves through, they'll ease a little and switch around from a southerly direction into the west or northwest.
As you may imagine with rain, and then northwesterly winds, temperatures aren't going to be in heatwave territory today. 8c to 12c will be about the limit, perhaps squeezing into the teens on the south coast.
Overnight, some showers will continue to affect the west and north. Elsewhere though it's dry and chilly with a touch of ground frost forming in places. Gardeners and growers beware. Into tomorrow, it's a much quieter day than today, with lighter winds across much of England and Wales, although it'll still be blustery close to western coasts, up through Ireland and into Scotland and the far north of England. Eastern and central parts will enjoy a lot of dry, bright weather, with just a few showers dotted about. Further north and west, it'll be cloudier with some drizzly bits and pieces of rain at times.
Temperatures will be warmer than today, especially in the sunnier parts of the country where 13-15c will be typical. Under the cloudier skies, 9-13c will be more like it.
Friday sees a continuation of that theme, with western and northern parts still seeing more cloud, some showery rain and lower temperatures. Further east it's sunnier and warmer, with temperatures by this point getting up toward the high-teens in places.
Although the headline for the holiday weekend is all about the sunny, warm weather, as is often the case when it comes to the UK, there will be winners and losers. The vast majority of the country will be sat at the winner's table though (assuming you like sunshine and warmth that is!). But to start the weekend, western fringes and in particular the north and northwest of Scotland will struggle to see as much of the sunshine, will see some rain at times, and it'll be windier.
Then, later in the weekend, and particular on Bank Holiday Monday, with winds swinging into the east, it'll be some eastern coastal counties struggling with extra cloud and a chillier feel. As holiday weekend's go, this one is looking pretty good though, especially bearing in mind the weather we've had over the last week or so. Check your local weekend forecast here.
