Weekend Weather: Some Good Some Bad

Not the best of Bank Holidays weatherwise I'm afraid, with today and Monday the 'nicest' two days. Sunday, unfortunately, will be something of a washout with heavy rain in places, and it'll be on the cool side for late August.

It's a chilly start this morning, with many parts waking to temperatures in single figures. It's a bright and quite sunny one though, with the sun soon lifting temperatures. It's mainly dry although there are a few showers mainly over Lancashire and Merseyside coming through the 'Cheshire Gap' into parts of the West Midlands, with a few also over Derry and the North of Scotland. As cloud builds through the morning, other showers will develop, but they'll be nowhere near as widespread or as heavy as yesterday, with most parts staying dry under variable amounts of cloud by the afternoon.

Keep up to date with the latest radar here.

It'll feel chilly in a mostly moderate locally fresh North West or Westerly wind, that'll tend to decrease and 'back' South Westerly towards evening. This'll make it on the cool side for late August, with top temperatures only 13 to 16C in the North and 17 to 19C locally 20C in the South. 

The evening sees clearing skies allowing it to turn quite chilly again overnight. A touch of grass frost is even possible in some sheltered vulnerable Scottish glens, where temperatures could fall as low as 2 or 3C briefly around dawn. For most central and eastern areas, however, 6 to 8C will be a more general minimum. Further West it won't turn so chilly because cloud will be increasing ahead of frontal systems moving in off the Atlantic Ocean. These'll bring rain overnight to Northern Ireland heavy in places, which will probably have spread to much of Wales and most western areas by morning.

A South Westerly breeze will be mostly light into the evening before freshening from the South in the West overnight, where some strong or gale gusts are likely in exposed areas later. Hereafter a chilly evening it'll be turning milder overnight, with lowest temperatures around 8 to 11C.

After a bright start in the East, rain in the West will spread to all parts through the morning. The rain will be heavy at times over several hours into the afternoon, accompanied by a fresh and blustery southerly wind that'll give gale force gusts over exposed coasts and hills in the West. Northern Ireland should turn brighter during the afternoon, but there'll continue to be showers in a fresh, locally strong and blustery West to South West wind. As a result, it'll be cool for late August, with temperatures getting no higher than 13 to 15C in the North and 16 to 18C further South.

After a wet evening in central and eastern areas, somewhat clearer weather with broken skies will spread from the West. All parts will then be in a showery regime, with the bulk of the showers in the West and over Scotland, where in the far North they could be prolonged. Eastern areas apart from the odd shower should become mainly dry, where skies may break sufficiently to give a few clear intervals. A fresh and blustery southerly wind in the East at first will veer West or South Westerly as the rain clears, with minimum temperatures mostly in the range 8 to 12C.

Bank holiday Monday should see a fair amount of dry weather, but with variable amounts of cloud. There'll be a few showers 'dotted' about, and it won't be particularly warm.

A quieter interval should give finer and eventually warmer weather on Tuesday and into Wednesday, but with further showers locally heavy mid-week. Pressure should then rise making the remainder of the week finer and mainly dry, but with a chilly breeze for a time. By following weekend temperatures should be slowly rising to hopefully giving a fine settled start to September. Fingers crossed!