It will be on the cold side with showers and longer spells of rain at times, and there is a risk of snow for some on Easter Monday. There will also be drier spells with some sunshine for people to get out and enjoy the long weekend.

Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist Martin Young said: “The Easter period will bring a variety of weather with a fair amount of sunshine, especially in the west. Cold winds and showers are more likely in the east, with cloudy and wet conditions in the south. Snow will affect some of us on Monday, enough to cause disruption to travel plans as people return from the Easter Break.”

After a dry and cloudy start for many, Friday will bring more prolonged rain to the south of the UK, whilst wintry showers will affect parts of the north. A snow warning has been issued for Northeast Scotland. There will be a range of temperatures with a few spots in the south reaching double figures, but parts of Scotland will only reach 5 °C.

On Saturday, there will be sunny intervals in the north, with wintry showers affecting the northeast. Whilst in the south, early wind and rain will ease later, allowing the sun to come out in some places. Overnight into Sunday it will turn colder, so widespread frost will form across the UK, particularly in Northern Ireland and Scotland, where temperatures could drop to as low as -5 °C.

Easter Day is expected to start off very cold with that sharp frost especially in the north. Sunshine and a few showers are likely, perhaps wintry in the north, before heavy rain moves into the southwest late in the day.

On Monday morning, heavy rain and strong winds across the south of England will spread slowly northwards. As the rain moves into Wales and the Midlands, it may well change to snow.  A Met Office Snow Warning has been issued for Monday which will be updated nearer the time as confidence in the forecast details increases. There is considerable uncertainty about how far the snow will spread and how much there will be, but it looks as though parts of the Midlands, northern England, eastern Wales and southern Scotland will see snow.  Accumulations may be significant on hills, with smaller wetter and temporary accumulations at lower levels. This has the potential to cause some transport disruption in some cities.

With such a variety of weather, including cold spells, over the next few days, the RHS provides some advice on how to keep gardens in the best shape. Guy Barter, Chief Horticulturist at the RHS, said: “Gardeners dread spring frosts as these can nip the new flowers of fruit and other plants such as magnolias, but in many cases vulnerable flowers in the north will still be in bud, the growing season starting much later in the north than in the south, and won’t be harmed.

“Most spring flowers, daffodils and primroses for example are incredibly tolerant of bad weather despite their delicate looks and won’t be much hurt by chill or rain. Tender plants though should be kept indoors until warmer conditions prevail.”

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