By Thursday afternoon the UK will be split, with rain and cloud across the northern half of the UK, and brighter showery conditions in the south. As the sun sets, temperatures will fall away sharply into Thursday night, particularly in the southeast of England, where patches of ice and fog could develop overnight.

Friday will see further rain, coupled with strong gusty winds, moving in from the southwest and spreading across the country through the day.

Chief Meteorologist, Matthew Lehnert, said: “The UK will see further unsettled weather through the weekend and into next week. After a chilly start with the chance of some icy patches and fog in the southeast of England, wind and rain will move across the UK through Friday. It’ll be an unpleasant evening rush hour so do leave extra time if you’re out on the roads.

“The highest rainfall totals from Friday into Saturday will be over high ground in south Wales, southwest England, Cumbria, southwest Scotland and Northern Ireland. 20-30 mm of rain is likely in these areas, most of which will fall in around 6-9 hours. Given how wet it has already been, the additional rainfall, especially in western areas, could lead to localised flooding and travel disruption.”

Weekend weather

While rain will persist in eastern Scotland, the rest of the UK will see a more showery day on Saturday, and it will remain breezy too. Sunday will see another band of rain moving north-eastwards across the country, though it’ll move through swiftly reducing the chance of significant rainfall accumulations in any one place.   

Chance of disruptive weather next week

After a showery day on Monday, attention turns to a potentially deep area of low pressure to the southwest of the UK. While there is still some uncertainty about the position and depth of the low, the UK could see some very wet and windy weather later on Monday and overnight into Tuesday.

Deputy Chief Meteorologist, Steven Keates, said: “A deep area of low pressure will approach the UK from the southwest later on Monday, bringing with it heavy rain and strong winds. While the detail of exactly where will see the strongest gusts and heaviest rain is still uncertain, there is the potential for the weather to cause some disruption. People should keep up to date with the forecast through the weekend, and keep an eye out for severe weather warnings that may be issued for this area of low pressure.”

Further ahead

The outlook through December remains unsettled, with a westerly influence bringing further areas of low pressure towards the UK. It is currently too far ahead to give any certainty over the weather for Christmas, but updates will be posted across Met Office channels as we get closer to the time.

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Stormy seas from a clifftop as wind approaches.