Five things that’ll make it feel like spring next week

As soon as the calendar flipped over into March, marking the start of meteorological spring, winter bounced back having been absent for much of the time is should have been here.

Chilly days, some snow and frosty nights dominated the beginning of March, but there’ll be a marked change in the weather this weekend.

High pressure building over us will cut off the feed of cold air that brought the early March chill and mild air will start to push in from the south west, bringing five things that’ll make it feel like spring.

Mild days

As the wind direction switches to a south westerly, it’ll gradually feed in mild air from the tropical Atlantic Ocean.

This will bring a rise in temperature through the weekend and into next week, with most places reaching double figures at 10-15C.

However, there will be places where mist, fog and low cloud may linger all day, meaning that locally, temperatures will stick at 6-9C.

Some sunshine

As high pressure builds, there’ll be some spells of sunshine for all places during the next week, as sinking air subsides and helps to break up any cloud.

However, sunshine amounts are probably the most uncertain factor during the next seven days, with cloud amounts varying day by day and some places seeing more sunshine than others.

The uncertainty arises from the possibility of low cloud moving in off the North Sea during the nights, which will be stubborn to break up during the daytime in some areas.

In this kind of setup, western areas often tend to get the sunniest skies, with cloud more likely to linger across eastern coastal counties of England and Scotland.

Light winds

For much of next week, the winds will generally be light across most of the UK – aside from a few days when southern parts of England may have a cool easterly breeze.

With the sun now reaching higher in the sky as we approach the spring equinox, it is now as strong as it is during the latter part of September.

So, with little wind, sunny spells and temperatures in double figures, it can feel pleasantly warm.

Mainly dry

Whilst there will be some rain across Scotland and Northern Ireland this weekend, by next week, it’ll be mainly dry as high pressure builds.

The only chance of any rain will come in the form of drizzle falling from low cloud that drifts in off the North Sea.

Even then, any drizzle that does fall will mainly be at night, first thing in the morning and close to eastern coasts.

Chilly nights

Spring in the UK still brings some chilly nights, as there are still more hours of darkness than daylight until the spring equinox has passed.

With light winds and clear skies, temperatures will still fall far enough for there to be some frost and fog at night – especially in the countryside, but not exclusively so.

This brings the frustration of having to dress for winter first thing in the morning, only to step outside in the afternoon to pleasant spring mildness.

Looking further ahead, the weather is likely to turn more changeable later in the month, although picking out any detail at this point is difficult.

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