Weather and climate change

Headline:

Rain easing with brighter spells. Hill snow in the north.

Today:

Cloudy with rain, sleet and hill snow easing across central and eastern England, turning drier later with brighter spells. Showery rain moves east across Northern Ireland into western Scotland, with hill snow. Brisk winds southwest and north. Feeling chilly.

Tonight:

Cloud for most with early rain or showers in the north and east. Some clear spells elsewhere before strengthening winds bring heavy rain into Northern Ireland and western Scotland later.

Friday:

Frosty for some in the north and east. Widespread rain spreads east with brief hill snow, turning brighter with blustery showers later. Winds freshening and turning milder from the west.

Outlook for Saturday to Monday:

Turning milder but often cloudy with rain or drizzle, heaviest west, with brighter spells at times. Sunday stays unsettled with rain. Monday briefly brighter before further rain spreads in later.

Updated: 04:00 (UTC) on Thu 19 Feb 2026

Quite changeable as Atlantic frontal systems track near or across the UK at times, bringing spells of rain or showers, typically heaviest and most frequent over western areas, but interspersed with drier interludes. Some spells of strong winds will be possible at times too, again more especially in western parts. With a flow generally from the North Atlantic, temperatures will likely be near or above average for much of this period, though a trend towards something a little cooler is possible for a time around the change of the month. Later in the period there may be a trend towards slightly drier conditions in the southeast, whilst it remains wet times in the northwest, but confidence in this aspect is rather low.

Updated: 14:00 (UTC) on Wed 18 Feb 2026

Confidence is rather low through this period with regards to the weather patterns affecting the UK. The most likely outcome is a continuation of rather changeable conditions, with low pressure systems tending to pass close to or across the UK, bringing occasional spells of wet and windy weather, especially in the north and west. High pressure to the south may build across the UK at times to bring some drier, quieter interludes, this probably most frequent in the south and east. Temperatures are likely to be near or slightly above average for the period as a whole, though some relatively short-lived interludes of colder conditions remain possible.

Updated: 15:00 (UTC) on Wed 18 Feb 2026