Will the spring sunshine continue for Easter weekend?

The weather has been much kinder to us this spring compared to spring last year, which was the coldest the UK had for half a century.

With the exception of temporary blips, the sun’s been shining, it’s been mainly dry, along with some pleasant spring warmth.

March saw UK mean temperatures (a combination of day and night) 1.2C above average, with a top temperature for the month of 20.9C, recorded at St James’s Park, London and Santon Downham, Suffolk, on the 30th. 

Sunshine was an impressive 27 per cent above normal and it was drier than a typical March, with just 85 per cent of average rainfall.

With most schools in the UK having finished for the Easter holidays, there will no doubt be lots of parents wondering what this week and the forthcoming bank holiday will deliver.

Next few days

For the next few days, the jet stream is going to lie north of the UK, sending low pressure towards Iceland and Scandinavia, allowing high pressure to sit over us.

However, later this week, the jet stream is going to dive southwards, causing a fairly weak area of low pressure to drift over us.

This means that until Wednesday, most places will be dry with sunny spells, light winds and temperatures reaching 11-17C. Gardeners beware though – it’ll be chilly at night, with a touch of frost possible, mainly in the countryside.

Later on Wednesday and through Thursday, a band of cloud and rain will sink southwards across all places, with the rain tending to fizzle out by the time it reaches southern areas. It’ll also feel fresher, thanks to a north westerly breeze.

Bank holiday weekend

Annoyingly, the weather during the bank holiday weekend is still looking uncertain at the moment – much to the despair of us weather folk.

The weather computer models keep flipping between high pressure lingering and low pressure sitting right over the top of us.

As a result, there is not enough confidence to give a useful forecast for what the weather will be during the bank holiday weekend yet.

In the meantime, you can get the latest forecast on the Channel 4 Weather website. I’ll also be posting regular updates through the week on Twitter – @liamdutton