Weather and climate change

Headline:

Some rain, and breezy at first. Settling down this weekend.

This Evening and Tonight:

Outbreaks of rain will feed in across many northern and western areas overnight, accompanied by brisk winds. Elsewhere showers will fade to leave a mostly dry night with clear spells and a few mist patches. Remaining frost-free.

Friday:

The southeast will be dry with some warm sunshine. A band of rain will move eastwards across remaining areas, giving way to sunshine, but with blustery showers in the northwest.

Outlook for Saturday to Monday:

Sunshine and showers on Saturday, the showers mainly in the northwest, where still blustery. Mostly fine on Sunday after a chilly start. Cooler on Monday, with showers in the east.

Updated: 16:00 (UTC+1) on Thu 16 Apr 2026

High pressure to the north of the UK will bring plenty of dry weather and sunny spells at first. A few scattered showers are possible in central and eastern areas. Parts of the east coast could be on the chilly side with low cloud and an onshore breeze, but further west it will feel quite warm, especially in sunnier areas. By the weekend, unsettled weather is signalled to return, but confidence in the details is low with a range of scenarios possible. One scenario is for a northerly wind bringing wintry showers to northern and eastern coasts, and some snow over Scottish mountains. If this does occur it will probably not last more than a few days, before high pressure attempts to return towards the end of the month.

Updated: 13:00 (UTC+1) on Thu 16 Apr 2026

Changeable weather is likely through the period. In broad terms higher pressure is more likely to the north, with lower pressure to the south. Across Scotland and northern half of England this would mean drier and more settled weather. Meanwhile, Northern Ireland, Wales and the southern half of England perhaps seeing a greater chance of rain or showers at times, but plenty of scope for fair weather in between. Temperatures will probably be close to or slightly above average overall, perhaps becoming more widely warm at times.

Updated: 14:00 (UTC+1) on Thu 16 Apr 2026