A sunny and warm weekend ahead
With the weekend fast approaching, I thought that I would take a look at the weather prospects for the coming weekend.
After quite a cloudy week last week, this week has been sunnier, with temperatures widely reaching the mid to high teens.
High pressure is responsible for this settled spell of weather, extending its influence across the UK.
Whilst it’s brought plenty of sunshine and warmth, it’s also brought a continuation of dry weather – something that is not good news for the drought-hit parts of the country that really need rain.
The interesting point is that this same area of high pressure that’s currently across us will be remain for at least the next ten days or so. However, a change in its position may bring a very different feel to the weather for early April – more about that in a moment!
For now, there’ll be a band of showery rain pushing across northern and western parts of the UK on Friday, but elsewhere it’ll be fine and warm.
The weekend will see a continuation of the settled weather. For most places it’ll be dry with plenty of sunshine by day, although it’ll still be chilly by night with some mist, fog and low cloud forming in places.
Whilst the general theme is fine and warm, there will be a few exceptions. Some eastern counties of England and Scotland may be plagued by mist and low cloud with an east or south easterly wind blowing in off a chilly North Sea.
Sea breezes may also develop around southern coasts of England and Wales, which may peg back the temperatures by a few degrees compared with further inland.
Nevertheless, temperatures will widely reach 16-20C this weekend and early next week, with a few places possibly reaching 21C. Although for eastern areas plagued by low cloud, 12-14C is more likely and for coasts where sea breezes develop, 14-16C.
There’s no doubt that the sunshine will entice lots of you outdoors this weekend, but it’s worth highlighting that the sun is gaining strength now that it’s rising higher in the sky.
The UV index will be moderate across England and Wales on Saturday and Sunday. So, if you’re outside for any period of time and have sensitive skin prone to burning, it’s worth considering.
Looking further ahead, the area of high pressure currently across us may eventually drift to the west of the UK at the end of next week.
This would change the wind direction to a cold northerly, bringing with it a notable drop in temperature and even the threat of wintry showers to Scotland next weekend. It’s still a long way off, but there’s been a definite trend towards this in the weather computer models.
Don’t forget the clocks go forward an hour on Saturday night marking the beginning of British Summer Time, giving an extra hour of daylight during the evenings.
Also, the Channel 4 Weather website has just been upgraded to feature 3-hourly weather forecasts, giving you even more detail to help you plan your day. You can of course follow me for weather chat on Twitter – @liamdutton