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Friday begins dry in much of the UK but there are showers in eastern counties.This morning showers continue to pepper the east and they could become heavier for a while in East Anglia before fading away. The afternoon will be mostly dry and bright but in the west cloud thickens. By early evening outbreaks of rain spread into Northern Ireland. 

Temperatures range from 3C (37F) in Scotland to 7C (45F) in the south. See the rainfall radar for the latest view.

Tonight  wet weather pushes eastwards reaching central areas by the morning. Rain turns to snow in parts of the north and over high ground in Wales. Eastern Britain remains dry.

Tomorrow the precipitation becomes slow moving and eastern counties may remain dry. A mix of rain, sleet and snow is expected with accumulations of snow possible in places. Snow is most likely in the north and elsewhere during heavy bursts of  precipitation.

The Meteo France Arpege chart shows where the rain, sleet and snow is expected to be at 13:00 GMT tomorrow. 

Meteo France Arpege 00z, 2nd February, precipitation type 13:00 GMT Sat 3rd Feb

During the second half of the day the precipitation fades away and a frost develops overnight. Sunday will be dry and cold in most areas but as the day progresses snow showers begin feeding into East Anglia and the south eastern corner.

Cold with snow next week

Computer models continue to paint a cold picture next week. The risk of substantial snowfall is high and it could turn out to be the most wintry spell of the season in much of the UK.

On Monday snow showers affect eastern England but elsewhere it should be mostly dry. Overnight and through Tuesday outbreaks of rain push into the north west and readily turn to snow as they head southeastwards. Some heavy falls are possible but forecast details remain uncertain. The DWD ICON forecast chart shows where the snow could be early on Tuesday morning. 

Deutsche Wetterdienst (DWD) ICON, 00z, precipitation type 06:00 GMT Tue 6th Feb

Wednesday and Thursday look cold with sleet and snow showers in much of the UK. Nighttime frosts will be widespread and severe in places. Late on Thursday and through Friday another area of rain, sleet and snow pushes southeastwards

After that computer models suggest temperatures will recover as we head towards Valentine's Day. Beyond mid-month temperatures are more likely to be below the seasonal average than above it.

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Forecast tools

Check the latest satellite images, computer model charts and rain radar:

DWD ICON forecast charts [NEW]

EUMETSAT high resolution satellite images [NEW]

Rain and precipitation type radar

Meteo France Arpege forecast charts

Global Forecast System (GFS) forecast charts

16 day GEFS ensembles at a glance

Cold conditions are shown for much of the period but there is growing support for it to turn milder for a time during the middle third of the month. View latest GEFS.