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Sunday starts with snow falling in counties to the west of London, Wales and parts of the north. Much of the country has had significant snowfall overnight with accumulations of more than 10cm in places causing disruption.    

Today outbreaks of snow continue in the south west and at times they will be heavy. In the north snow showers become more scattered but in the south eastern corner they could perk up again during the afternoon. Along the south coast and at low levels in the south west the precipitation could turn back to rain or sleet.

The Arpege forecast chart below gives an idea of where precipitation is likely at 3pm this afternoon. 

Arpege 00z, precipitation type, 15:00 GMT Sun 18th March

Temperatures this afternoon hover around 0C (32F) in much of the country and a keen easterly wind will make it feel bitterly cold. See the rainfall and precipitation type radar for the latest view.

Tonight any remaining outbreaks of sleet and snow in southern counties should gradually fade away. Central and northern regions will be mostly dry with a widespread frost.

Change on the way

Tomorrow brings a good deal of dry weather, although there could be scattered wintry showers near the east coast. Temperatures won't be as low as today's but it will still be cold. Frost returns overnight.

Tuesday could bring a few rain showers but predominantly dry weather is expected. Temperatures will be recovering but they remain below par for the time of year.

On Wednesday outbreaks of rain spread across the northern half of the UK. The south stays dry and bright.

During the second half of the week changeable weather extends across  regions. There is likely to be rain at times and it could be cold enough for snow in the north at times.

The GFS forecast chart below for Friday afternoon shows a changeable pattern over the UK with rain affecting western regions.

GFS 00z, surface pressure and precipitation, 15:00 GMT Fri 23rd March

In the longer term more changeable weather looks set to continue. In the north it could be cold enough for snow at times and there are signs of temperatures dipping again in the run up to the Easter period.

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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16 day GEFS ensembles at a glance

After a bitterly cold start temperatures gradually recover. In the run up to Easter it turns colder again and the risk of snow remains, particularly in the north. View latest GEFS.