Met Office daily weather: Cloudy start with sunny spells emerging

A band of cloud will linger across central and southern areas, bringing occasional drizzle in places

A band of cloud will linger across central and southern areas through Wednesday morning, bringing occasional drizzle in places. However, this cloud is expected to break from the northeast during the afternoon, allowing brighter conditions to develop. Elsewhere, the day will be mostly dry with sunny spells, although the Northern Isles may see a few light showers. It will be breezy in eastern parts, particularly along North Sea coasts.

Temperatures will be near normal for most, reaching around 24°C in the far south. However, it will feel rather cool in the north and along exposed eastern coasts, where the breeze will add to the chill.

The night will be largely dry with clear periods, especially across northern and western regions. A few light showers may persist in the far north and northeast, where it will remain breezy. In rural areas of the north and west, temperatures will fall sharply, with minima dipping to between 2°C and 5°C. There is a chance of a localised grass frost in these spots. Eastern and southeastern England will stay milder overnight, with the breeze helping to keep temperatures in double figures.

Outlook for Thursday

Thursday will begin on a chilly note, particularly in the west under clear skies. However, temperatures will rise through the day to near average levels. The best of the sunshine will be found in western areas, although cloud is expected to become increasingly broken, allowing some sunshine to reach most regions.

A few light showers are possible at times in the Northern Isles, eastern Scotland, and later along North Sea coastal areas. Winds will generally be light to moderate, though they may freshen around eastern coasts.

READ MORE: Met Office week ahead forecast: Cooler conditions despite return of high pressure

Met Office presenter and meteorologist, Alex Deakin, said: “Wednesday starts pretty glum across most of England and Wales. A little bit of drizzle here and there, but generally the cloud will break up. Plenty of sunshine across central Scotland to Northern Ireland and for England and Wales. Come mid to late morning that cloud should be breaking up again. Still the possibility it stays a bit grey on some of those North Sea coast and it may take most of the day before the cloud breaks in the southwest of England.

“But generally much more sunshine to come. It is cooler air, however. So, temperatures perhaps similar to Tuesday’s values. Feeling a little fresher in the evening in particular, but during the day with some sunshine with light winds feeling quite pleasant with those temperatures again close to the average for the time of year. The cloud should melt away a little further in the southwest during the evening. And that's when those temperatures will drop. And you'll probably notice that difference through Wednesday evening quite a bit.

“Feeling a lot fresher, but generally speaking, high pressure remains in control of our weather. High pressure will continue to mean dry weather for the majority through the rest of this week. Good spells of sunshine likely on Thursday and Friday. Perhaps a bit more cloud into the weekend. Something else we need to watch into the weekend bank holiday weekend for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.”

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.