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Taste of spring in the air

[Updated 06:55 09/03/2017]

Thursday begins dry across much of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland it's windy with outbreaks of rain in the east.

This morning the wet weather clears from Scotland, but through the afternoon a few showers pop up. Elsewhere a good deal of dry and bright weather is likely, but thicker cloud brings some rain to south western England during the second half of the day.

Southern and central regions have a very mild day with temperatures possibly reaching 15C (59F), but in Scotland maximum values will be close to 8C (46F). See the rainfall radar for the latest view.

Tonight rain pushes across much of the west, and in Northern Ireland it becomes quite heavy. Elsewhere clear skies lead to a chilly night with a touch of frost in the north.

Tomorrow drizzle and patchy spells of rain affect most areas. The south has another very mild day and a few bright interludes may develop.

On Saturday it remains mild. Outbreaks of rain in the west will spread eastwards but they are expected to fizzle out. Sunday sees another band of wet weather pushing eastwards and this is followed by fresher conditions.

Early next week it remains mild and changeable, but high pressure should lead to southern counties having drier spells. The second half of the week probably brings cooler and quite unsettled weather with a risk of wintry showers over high ground in the north.

Ensembles at a glance

The 16 day GEFS shows mixed but quite mild conditions during the first week. Through the rest of the period it becomes unsettled with close to average temperatures.