UK weather

Headline:

Rain or showers, mostly in the north and west

Today:

Rain affects northern and western areas on Tuesday, becoming increasingly showery. Some outbreaks will be heavy and possibly thundery in the north. Patchy rain may briefly affect southeast England. Elsewhere, mostly cloudy with some brighter spells. Temperatures close to normal.

Tonight:

Showers will continue into the evening, some locally heavy, but it will become increasingly dry towards midnight, with clear spells developing. Cloud will increase across Northern Ireland towards dawn.

Wednesday:

Cloud and rain across Northern Ireland will spread eastwards into Scotland during the day, with some heavier bursts possible. Elsewhere, it will be largely dry, with variable amounts of cloud.

Outlook for Thursday to Saturday:

Areas of cloud and rain will continue to affect the north of the country from Thursday. Elsewhere, conditions will become increasingly fine and dry, with temperatures gradually rising.

High pressure will dominate across England and Wales over the weekend, bringing dry and warm conditions with plenty of sunshine for most. Scotland and Northern Ireland will probably see more cloud this weekend, with periods of rain mainly affecting western Scotland at times. Into the following working week, high pressure remains slow moving over England and Wales, perhaps extending northwards to bring drier and warmer weather to Scotland and Northern Ireland. Winds will be light to moderate for most, though stronger around northern hills and coasts near low pressure systems. Temperatures will rise through the period, perhaps becoming very warm or hot in places.

From mid July, high pressure is more likely than low pressure, bringing a greater chance of settled and drier conditions. Occasionally this dry and warm weather could be interrupted by outbreaks of rain with stronger winds, this most likely further north if this occurs. As is typical for the time of year, there remains a risk of heavy, thundery showers during any warm spells. Towards the end of July there is a slight preference for a continuation of high pressure to dominate, however confidence at this range is low. In any case, temperatures are likely to be above average overall, with a greater than normal chance of hot conditions developing at times.