IMPORTANT : ARCHIVED CONTENT

Saturday begins with heavy rain in Wales, the south west and parts of the south east. Elsewhere it is a dry and quite mild.  Through the day  the wet weather pushes northwards reaching Northern Ireland and southern Scotland by early afternoon. The heaviest rain is expected in western and central regions and in the north later on. In eastern England it will be patchier but still heavy at times.  

ICON 00z, forecast precipitation, 13:00 BST Sat 7th April

The wet weather marks the boundary between very warm air to the east of the UK and cooler air to the west. Maximum temperatures this afternoon range from 9C (48F) in the north west to 18C (64F) in brighter parts of eastern England. See the rainfall and precipitation type radar for the latest view.

Tonight the wet weather moves into northern Scotland and it turns drier elsewhere. By the end of the night another batch of rain spreads into parts of the south and south east. It will be quite mild.

Tomorrow outbreaks of rain affect central and eastern England. Northern Ireland and western Scotland have sunny spells but also heavy showers. In other areas it should be dry.

ICON 00z, forecast precipitation, 13:00 BST Sun 8th April

Look east next week

During the first half of next week an easterly flow becomes established over the UK. Unlike in late February and mid March the air over continental Europe is very mild but because the North Sea is cold so it won't be a Feast from the East. Therefore in eastern counties it could be quite raw with the brightest and warmest weather in the west. 

GFS 00z, forecast surface pressure and precipitation, 16:00 BST Thu 12th April

Register for the TWO community

If you would like to join the TWO community please see how to register for the forum. People with all levels of meteorological knowledge are very welcome to apply. However if you're a meteorology (or related subject) student or recent graduate there may be an opportunity for you to earn some money next summer.

Forecast tools

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

1981 - 2010 daily temperature charts [NEW]

Temperature anomalies [NEW]

DWD ICON forecast charts [NEW]

EUMETSAT high resolution satellite images [NEW]

Rain and precipitation type radar [UPGRADED 21/03]

Meteo France Arpege forecast charts

Global Forecast System (GFS) forecast charts

16 day GEFS ensembles at a glance

A changeable outlook is shown with the wettest conditions in the southern half of the UK during the first half of the period. There is a bias for above average upper air temperatures to continue for much of the time. Despite that it remains chilly in the east and north east for much of the time due to an easterly flow. View latest GEFS.