Recent settled and warm weather, which has helped put the UK on track to having its warmest summer on record, has now subsided and has been replaced with more unsettled and changeable weather.

Met Office Chief Meteorologist Steve Willington said: “A westerly regime is now in charge of the UK’s weather and will help fuel periods of wet and windy weather over the next few days, with showers and some longer spells of rain likely for much of the UK on Thursday and Friday.

“While many areas may welcome some rain after fairly prolonged dry weather, there’s a potential that over the next few days some parts of Wales, northwest England and western Scotland could see some impacts at times, which we’ll be keeping an eye on.”

Low pressure centred over the north of the UK will bring showers for many on Thursday and Friday, with the most frequent showers expected further north.

Weekend weather forecast

A spell of more persistent and heavy rain is forecast on Saturday as an area of low pressure moves in from the southwest and tracks northeastwards close to the UK. Accompanying this heavy rain will be some strong winds, particularly along coasts.

David Oliver is a Deputy Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office and is responsible for the medium range forecast. He said: “A deep area of low pressure will develop close to the UK on Saturday and track northeast over the weekend, bringing wet and windy weather for many.

“While the exact track and depth of the system is still a little uncertain, at present it looks likely that we’ll see gusts in excess of 50mph in some areas during Saturday and Sunday, especially across coasts, headlands and high ground. In addition to these gusty winds, 10-20mm of rain is likely across many regions, with higher totals over hills in western areas.”

It’s important to stay up to date with the latest Met Office forecast, as warnings could be issued for the weekend weather.

Next week’s weather outlook

Changeable and at times unsettled weather is likely across the UK next week. Showers or some longer spells of rain are likely with the influence of low pressure never too far away from the UK.

Keep up to date with weather warnings, and you can find the latest forecast on our website, on YouTube, by following us on X and Facebook, as well as on our mobile app which is available for iPhone from the App store and for Android from the Google Play store.