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Wednesday starts with rain in the far north west of the UK. Elsewhere it is dry and there has been a widespread frost across England and Wales. This morning the wet weather slowly spreads southwards across Scotland and through the afternoon it extends into northern England and Northern Ireland. Southern and central Britain stays dry and bright.

DWD ICON 00z, forecast precipitation, 18:00 GMT Wed 21th March

Maximum temperatures in much of the country will be close to 9C (48F) but in eastern Scotland 13C (55F) could be reached. Our rainfall and precipitation type radar was upgraded yesterday so if you've not seen it yet take a look. New features include geolocation capabilities and a live Google traffic overlay option. In addition on map controls make it much easier to use on a smartphone.

Tonight patchy outbreaks of rain affect the north and east. The rest of the country should be mostly dry and in the south west clear spells could lead to a touch of frost.

Tomorrow morning light spells of rain affect East Anglia and the south east. In Northern Ireland and Scotland cloud thickens and wet weather pushes in from the Atlantic. Elsewhere a dry, bright and pleasantly mild day is in prospect.

Friday and the weekend

On Friday rain clears southeastwards and is followed by showery conditions. In the north the showers turn wintry over high ground as colder air returns. Southern and central areas will be quite mild.

Through Friday night and Saturday morning outbreaks of rain may affect southern counties. The north remains chilly with showers continuing in the north west. By Sunday the cooler air pushes southeastwards across the UK to leave a mix of sunny spells and showers.

DWD ICON 00z, forecast precipitation, 15:00 GMT Sun 25th March

The run up to Easter

The first half of next week is looking changeable. All regions can expect rain at times but in the south there should be more emphasis on dry periods. 

During the second half of the week a transition to colder conditions is probable but the forecast details are uncertain. Areas of low pressure are expected to push southeastwards into continental Europe and that could lead to cold air being pulled down from the north and east across the UK.

Some computer models show another pool of very cold upper level air pushing into the UK from the northeast by Good Friday. The chart below from today's GFS 00z run illustrates that particular scenario but at this stage it is only one of a number of possible scenarios.

GFS 00z, surface pressure and 850hPa temperatures, 15:00 GMT Fri 30th March

Ensemble models which are used to identify the likelihood of different outcomes suggest warmer and drier conditions are  still not out of the question. Nonetheless a White Easter is statistically more likely than a White Christmas. 

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16 day GEFS ensembles at a glance

Temperatures gradually recover at the start of the period. In the run up to Easter it turns colder again and the risk of snow remains, particularly in the north. View latest GEFS.