Weather and climate change

Headline:

Rather cloudy in the northwest today, with sunny spells elsewhere.

Today:

Rather cloudy across Scotland and Northern Ireland with some patchy rain. Otherwise, early mist, fog and low cloud gradually clearing leaving a fine day with sunny spells. Feeling warmer than Tuesday, especially in the sunshine.

Tonight:

Remaining cloudy across Scotland and Northern Ireland, with rain becoming more persistent later.Dry elsewhere, with some patchy low cloud and hill fog developing. A milder night for most.

Thursday:

Rain across the northwest making slow progress southeastwards during Thursday. Much of England and Wales though remaining dry with sunniest skies in the east. Feeling warm away from the northwest.

Outlook for Friday to Sunday:

Largely dry and bright in the north on Friday and Saturday. Otherwise, often cloudy, with some outbreaks of rain, particularly in the south on Friday and west on Sunday.

Updated: 04:00 (UTC) on Wed 4 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 still a signal for unsettled conditions to become rather more widespread, with all parts seeing a higher chance of rain and stronger winds. Throughout, temperatures should overall pan out a little above average for most areas.

Updated: 14:00 (UTC) on Wed 4 Mar 2026

A more widely unsettled spell of weather is possible through the middle part of March, with periods of rain and strong winds affecting much of the UK. Whilst confidence in the details is low, there is the potential for weather patterns to become slower-moving towards late March, with unsettled weather become more confined to parts of the south, whilst 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, though at present, there is no strong sign for any really cold weather to develop.

Updated: 15:00 (UTC) on Tue 3 Mar 2026