Weather and climate change

Headline:

Sunshine in the north today. Cloudier with patchy rain elsewhere.

Today:

Scotland and Northern Ireland look largely dry with plenty of sunshine. Meanwhile, England and Wales will be rather cloudy with some rain, this chiefly across northern and western England and Wales this morning, then across southeast England later. Generally cooler.

Tonight:

A dry, though increasingly breezy night in the north with clear spells allowing some frost to form. Cloudier and milder across England and Wales with patchy rain and some fog.

Saturday:

Mostly dry in the north on Saturday with some sunshine. Turning wet in the far northwest, and generally breezy. Cloudier across England and Wales with patchy rain, and early fog.

Outlook for Sunday to Tuesday:

Sunday and Monday will be rather cloudy with patchy rain and fog in places. However, some brighter spells developing. Wet and rather windy weather arriving from the west on Tuesday.

Updated: 04:00 (UTC) on Fri 6 Mar 2026

The first part of this period will continue to see the UK located at the interface between high pressure across Europe and low pressure over the North Atlantic. As such, western areas will likely see spells of rain at times, along with stronger winds, whereas eastern parts should see more in the way of drier interludes, though even here, some rain is possible from time to time. Towards the middle of March, there is a signal for unsettled conditions to perhaps become more widespread, with all parts seeing a higher chance of rain and stronger winds. Throughout, temperatures should overall be a little above average for most areas.

Updated: 14:00 (UTC) on Thu 5 Mar 2026

The start of this period could see unsettled conditions fairly widely across the UK, with spells of rain and strong winds affecting many areas at times, although western areas likely remain wettest. Then, whilst confidence in the details is low, there is the potential for weather patterns to become slower-moving by late March, with unsettled weather becoming more confined to parts of the south, as areas towards the north and northwest turn drier. Given this pattern, the chance of wintry hazards will increase compared to earlier in March. Overall, temperatures will probably end up near to average, but there is an increasing chance of below average temperatures towards the end of March, but at present there is no strong sign for any really cold weather to develop.

Updated: 15:00 (UTC) on Thu 5 Mar 2026