Weather and climate change

Headline:

Rain sweeping southeastwards. Colder weather following to end the week.

Today:

Heavy rain sweeping southeastwards across Scotland and Northern Ireland this morning, reaching northern and western England and Wales this afternoon. Brighter, but with patchy rain to the southeast. Turning brighter, showery and colder further north. Windy, with gales in places.

Tonight:

Heavy rain clearing southeast across England and Wales tonight. Otherwise clear spells and showers, some wintry. More persistent rain and snow in the north, where patchy frost and ice. Windy.

Friday:

A cold and windy day with a mixture of sunshine and blustery showers. Showers merging to give more persistent rain and snow in places, the snow most likely over hills.

Outlook for Saturday to Monday:

Widely frosty to start Saturday, then sunshine and scattered showers, some wintry. Lighter winds. Rain then showers on Sunday. Some hill snow. Further rain arriving in west Monday. Windier again.

Updated: 04:00 (UTC) on Thu 12 Mar 2026

Mostly changeable through this period, with Atlantic frontal systems passing close to or across the UK at times. These will bring spells of rain and showers, most frequent and heavy in the west or northwest, and perhaps accompanied by strong winds. However, there should also be some drier interludes under transient ridges of high pressure, with longer dry periods most likely in the south and east, though even here some wet weather is possible at times. Temperatures will be near average for the period as a whole, but with some shorter-duration colder interludes at times when frost and hill snow will be possible.

Updated: 14:00 (UTC) on Wed 11 Mar 2026

Blocked, or slowly evolving, weather patterns are favoured for late March into early April, with high pressure probably building to the north or northeast of the UK. Whilst confidence is low in how this will influence the weather across the UK, this tends to lead to a more prolonged period of a certain weather type, be it settled or unsettled. In any case, a reduction in Atlantic-dominated weather patterns is likely, although some wet weather remains possible at times, perhaps more especially in the south and east whilst northwestern areas tend to be drier than average. Temperatures will probably be close to average for the period as a whole, but there is an increased chance of some colder conditions developing for a time with a risk of frost.

Updated: 15:00 (UTC) on Wed 11 Mar 2026