Met Office daily weather: High pressure building as we head towards the weekend

The weather for Thursday and Friday will be characterised by a mix of settled and unsettled conditions across the UK.

Thursday will begin with fog patches in southern areas, but these will clear to leave plenty of dry weather and sunny spells. Central parts of the country will be cloudier, with some light rain or drizzle, particularly in western areas. Further north, clearer skies will bring sunny intervals, though the far north can expect a scattering of showers.

Later in the day, cloud will increase across western Scotland and the Northern Isles, bringing occasional rain or drizzle. Winds will be a notable feature in the north, with gusty conditions especially to the lee of hills, while the south will experience much lighter winds.

Temperatures will be near normal for the time of year, though eastern Scotland and parts of central, eastern, and southern England may see values a little above average, with highs of 17-19°C and isolated spots possibly reaching 20°C. Under clearer skies in the south overnight, it may turn chilly, with lows of 3-5°C, while northern areas remain milder.

Outlook for Friday

Friday will bring variable cloud amounts and some bright or sunny spells, especially where overnight fog patches clear during the morning. The far north and northwest will see thicker cloud and some patchy light rain or drizzle, accompanied by fresh to strong winds. Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate.

Temperatures will start mild and remain close to the seasonal average through the day, ensuring a generally pleasant feel for most.

Met Office presenter and meteorologist, Clare Nasir, said: “Thursday morning is damp for some, but for most it's a fine day. We are chasing clouds. There will be some brightness in the sky as well. There’s low pressure sitting towards the north of Scotland, hence the reason why it has been rather windy and gusty across Scotland and in fact cloud and rain continues just to file in from the west. But high pressure will be building from the south.

“Now as it intensifies and extends towards Scotland, most places seeing those light breezes into the weekend. Some brighter skies coming through, clouds just circulating around the periphery of the high, but most places will be dry and in fact that sets the scene for next week as well. Now, for the time being, we are picking up some dampness in the air, certainly across the far west of Scotland, but for most of Scotland, it is dry, a few showers for Shetland.

“A similar situation for the southern uplands and the hills just towards the north of England there. Now to the south of that, it's mostly dry. We've seen some lighter breezes overnight and you may run into some mist fog as we start the day today, but there will be some brighter skies around as well as the sun rises. Not too bad at all. Some cloud will remain quite stubborn though across more western areas exposed to the breeze coming in from the west.

“Elsewhere, brighter breaks arriving, some sunshine coming through, although more clouds across the west there later. Temperatures will be 17 to 19°C. Feeling very pleasant in shelter with any brighter breaks. That's a picture through this afternoon. As we head into Friday and the weekend, high pressure continues to build. Winds become lighter. Most places will be dry. There will be some sunshine around. And in fact, through the weekend, watch out for mist and fog by night, but by day the clouds should break and we'll see some sunshine."