Weather and climate change

Headline:

Changeable with showers or longer spells of rain this weekend.

This Evening and Tonight:

Showers, locally heavy, clearing to the east this evening, leaving many areas dry with clear spells. Some rain or showers will continue across northern Scotland, with rain returning later to the southwest. A chilly night, especially in some rural spots.

Saturday:

Rather cloudy for most with outbreaks of rain or showers, possibly heavy and thundery, especially over Northern Ireland. Driest in eastern England with warm spells of sunshine here until later.

Outlook for Sunday to Tuesday:

Early rain clearing to sunshine and showers on Sunday. Turning cooler into early next week with a mix of sunny spells and showers, but these generally lighter than the weekend.

Updated: 16:00 (UTC+1) on Fri 1 May 2026

A fairly quiet start to the period looks likely with many areas seeing a good deal of dry weather. That said we are unlikely to see a return of the completely dry and warm weather we have see in recent days, with clear or sunny periods and showers more likely. Toward the latter part of the period a trend toward more changeable weather is favoured although there should still be some drier intervals. After a cold start to the period, especially in the north, temperatures likely returning close to average later.

Updated: 13:00 (UTC+1) on Fri 1 May 2026

Low pressure systems are likely to dominate across the UK at the start of this period. This means showers or longer spells of rain are likely at times, heavy in places. There will, however, be some dry and warm interludes, although temperatures are likely to be close to normal overall. Later in the month, more settled and drier conditions may begin to develop, with temperatures perhaps rising slightly above normal.

Updated: 14:00 (UTC+1) on Fri 1 May 2026