Easter weekend weather: everything you need to know

With Easter just a few days away, most of us will be looking forward to having a long weekend off work and extra time to spend with friends and family.

No doubt, you’ll be wondering what the weather has in store, as it’ll play a significant part in what you have planned – especially if it involves being outdoors.

Easter is pretty early this year, which might make you think that the chance of the weather being decent is slightly eroded.

However, given how variable the weather can be at this time of year, when Easter falls doesn’t play as big a part as you might imagine.

So, I thought I’d take a look at the weather day by day and highlight the better days of what will be a mixed and unsettled spell overall.

Good Friday

This is likely to be the best day of Easter, with a ridge of high pressure building over the UK, squeezing away weather fronts over south east England early in the morning.

So, after early rain clears south east England – probably by 9am – much of the UK will have a fine, mild day with highs of 10-15C.

However, during the afternoon, cloud will increase over Scotland and Northern Ireland, with a freshening breeze and a little rain into the far west by evening.

Weatherman rating: 8/10 (it’d be better if it was going to be warmer)

Saturday

Low pressure will bring an unsettled day for all parts of the UK, with brisk winds and a spell of rain pushing eastwards across all areas after some early brightness in the east.

Winds could widely gust 30-45mph for a time as the rain moves through, with gusts of up to 55mph around the coasts and over the hills.

Temperatures will reach 7-11C in the north and 10-15C in the south.

Weatherman rating: 5/10 (not great for outdoor plans, although you might squeeze in something early in the east)

Easter Day

Sunday will be a classic sunshine and showers day across the UK, with a blustery, gusty wind.

Showers will be heaviest and most frequent in southern and western areas, where there could be some hail and thunder.

Northern and eastern areas will see fewer, lighter showers, with longer drier, brighter spells between.

Temperatures will reach 7-11C for most places, but locally up to 13C in eastern England.

Weatherman rating: 6/10 (not raining all day, but you’ll have to dodge the showers)

Easter Monday

There’s quite a bit of uncertainty about the detail for Monday’s weather in terms of how deep an area of low pressure is going to be – determining how windy it will be.

At the moment, it looks like England and Wales will have a wet day with heavy rain and brisk winds, with the potential for gusts of 50-60mph around coasts and over the hills – maybe bringing some disruption to ferry services and giving difficult travelling conditions.

Scotland and Northern Ireland will probably fare better, with little wind, accompanied by bright spells and showers.

Temperatures will rise to 7-10C for most of the UK, with up to 12C in southern parts of England and Wales.

Weatherman rating: 4/10 for England and Wales (rain and gales). 6/10 for Scotland and Northern Ireland (dodge the showers)

So, at the moment, Good Friday looks like offering the best weather for the greatest number of people.

Saturday and Monday will see wind and rain across many areas, with the potential for a weather warning to be issued for parts of England and Wales on Monday.

Don’t forget, you can get the latest forecast on the Channel 4 Weather website. I’ll also be posting updates on Twitter – @liamdutton