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Thursday starts wet in Northern Ireland, western Scotland and south western England, but elsewhere it is dry. Clear periods in the east have led to a patchy frost. During the rest of the day it remains bright in the east but heavy outbreaks of rain continue in the west. It becomes increasingly windy with gales in the west.

GFS 00z, wind gust speed, 15:00 GMT Wed 14th March

Temperatures range from 6C (42F) in Scotland to 12C (54F) in the south. See the rainfall and precipitation type radar for the latest view.

Tonight heavy rain spreads northeastwards and by the end of the night it is likely to be wet in Northern Ireland and parts of western England. The east remains dry.

Tomorrow the rain pushes into the north. Brighter and showery conditions follow into southern and central regions.

Through Friday wet weather continues in the north with showery conditions in southern and central regions. In the north east it turns colder and there is an increasing chance of rain turning to snow.

Beast from the East 2.0

By Saturday high pressure builds to the northeast of the UK and bitterly cold Siberian air pushes westwards across continental Europe. The pattern is similar to the one which brought the late February freeze hence the term "Beast from the East 2.0".

Most computer model runs show the upper level cold pool of air reaching the UK. High pressure won't be far from the north of the UK so snow showers are most likely to pepper southern and eastern regions. The details are uncertain but parts of Kent and Essex as well as other eastern coastal counties could see significant snow.

The DWD ICON precipitation type forecast chart below is for Saturday afternoon.

ICON 00z, forecast precipitation, 15:00 GMT Sat 17th March

Bitterly cold weather continues on Sunday and further snow showers are probable in the south and east. The north should be mostly dry and bright. Despite it being the second half of March daytime temperatures could struggle to rise above 0C (32F).

Next week the cold eases

Early next week high pressure is expected to sink southwards across the UK. Initially it remains cold with widespread and sharp nighttime frosts. By the middle of the week milder air from the southwest gradually returns but it may remain cold in the south east.

The ECM forecast chart below shows a wedge of milder air (indicated by yellow and orange shading) from the southwest pushing across much of the UK by next Wednesday. 

ECM 00z, 850hPa temperatures, 00:00 GMT Wed 21st March

Spring forecast

The TWO seasonal forecast covering the meteorological spring (March, April, May) has been issued. The monthly update for March is also online.

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Forecast tools

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

1981 - 2010 daily temperature charts [NEW]

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Rain and precipitation type radar

Meteo France Arpege forecast charts

Global Forecast System (GFS) forecast charts

16 day GEFS ensembles at a glance

Bitterly cold weather returns by 17th March and then temperatures gradually recover. During the last week of the month more changeable conditions are favoured. View latest GEFS.