After a broadly fine Thursday, the UK’s weather will turn more unsettled as we move into the Easter weekend. The most severe weather will be in the north of the UK on Saturday evening through to the middle of Sunday as an area of low pressure rapidly deepens, bringing very strong winds to much of northern Britain. The low-pressure system has been named Storm Dave.

A number of Yellow severe weather warnings for wind have been issued covering the whole of Scotland, Northern Ireland north Wales and parts of northern England. The medium impact Yellow warnings are likely to be updated as confidence in the detail of the severe weather increases. Across all warning areas gusts of 50-60mph are expected widely, with 60-70mph gusts possible in exposed locations. The strongest gusts will be in Scotland, where there is a small chance of gusts up to 80-90mph for a short time in exposed locations.

The wind speeds will peak at different times as the deep area of low pressure moves across the north of the UK, with peak gusts in Northern Ireland expected earlier on Saturday afternoon before spreading more widely across the north of the UK.

As well as strong winds heavy snow is likely to cause disruption, with accumulations of 5-10cm possible at location over 200m in elevation in northern Scotland. Some areas could see 10-20cm and with strong wind blizzards and drifting snow will be an additional hazard. A Yellow warning for snow has also been issued for 15:00 Saturday to 03:00 Sunday covering northwest Scotland.

Deputy Chief Forecaster, Tom Crabtree, said: “Storm Dave will form and rapidly deepen on Saturday as it approaches the UK from the west. By Saturday afternoon winds will strengthen significantly, with gusts of 60-70mph expected at times across parts of Scotland with the potential for gusts of 80-90mph in exposed coastal locations in Scotland. Gusts of 50-60mph are likely more widely in northern Britain.

“As well as strong winds, Storm Dave will also bring heavy snowfall over the hills in northern Scotland where up to 10-20cm of snow could accumulate. Along with the strong winds this will lead to blizzard conditions. Elsewhere there will be heavy spells of rain as the system moves through eastwards across the UK. With Storm Dave a few days away, people should prepare their property for the strong winds and keep updated with the latest weather forecast as the weather warnings are likely to be updated.”

Good Friday weather

Ahead of Storm Dave, Thursday will be a widely dry and bright start across the UK before increasing cloud then rain moves into northwestern parts of the UK later in the day. Overnight and through Good Friday this front will move through to the east, bringing rain to most areas of the UK, though driest in the southeast and the heaviest rain in western Scotland. As the front clears through, cooler air will be drawn in across the north of the UK bringing some snow showers to Scotland through Friday afternoon and overnight.  

Easter Monday weather

As Storm Dave clears into the North Sea on Sunday afternoon, frequent blustery snow showers will feed into Scotland and Northern Ireland. These showers falling as rain further south in parts of England and Wales.

Easter Monday will be the driest day of the weekend for weather, with a brief ridge of higher pressure in the wake of Storm Dave bringing a more settled day. There will be lots of cloud across the UK, though brighter spells will break through in some regions such as the far south of England and northeastern parts of Scotland.

Storm Dave won’t impact everywhere

While Storm Dave brings severe weather impacts to northern parts of the UK, it won’t be felt everywhere through the Easter weekend. While it will be a breezy weekend further south at times, it’ll also be much drier here too with any showers moving through quickly. There will also be some good sunny spells, particularly on Sunday afternoon and at times on Monday.

As people look to make the most of any breaks in the weather, the refreshed Met Office weather app now contains beach forecast information and water safety advice for Easter weekend.

Annie Shuttleworth is a Met Office weather presenter. She said: “New features to the Met Office weather app, especially tide times and safety advice complement the existing weather forecast information, giving everyone access to beach safety information and the weather forecast within a single view.

“We have worked with the RNLI - our water safety partner – to provide a range of information that will help all visitors to get the most out of their seaside visit.”

Next week’s weather

The outlook for next week remains unsettled, with further bands of cloud and rain likely to move in from the west, maintaining a cloudy theme with some rain and temperatures around average.

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. 

Dark skies over a stormy sea