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Thursday is off to a showery start in the north west but elsewhere it is generally dry and bright. During the day heavy showers spread across the northern counties and at times they could bring hail and thunder. In the south there will be fewer showers and longer sunny spells.

Temperatures range from 8C (46F) in the far north west to 15C (59F) in the south east. See the rain radar for the latest view.

KNMI HIRLAM 00z, forecast precipitation, 16:00 BST Thu 26th April

Tonight outbreaks of rain develop in the south west and push across much of Wales, southern and central England by the morning. In the north showers become more scattered and clear spells lead to a cold night and a touch of frost.

Tomorrow wet and windy weather affects much of England and Wales but during the afternoon it should turn brighter and showery in the west. Scotland and Northern Ireland have a mix of sunshine and showers.

Mixed weekend

On Saturday northern and western regions have a cool day with sunshine and showers. Forecast details for the south and east are uncertain. Brighter and showery conditions may have returned but there is a risk of more overcast and wet conditions taking longer to clear and lingering well into the day.

Sunday should see a continuation of the showery theme in the north and west. In the south and east the risk of wet and windy weather pushing up from the south increases during the course of the day. Computer model runs are still showing significant variations in the range of outcomes so check the local forecasts available at the top of the page for the latest updates.

The Arpege chart below for Sunday afternoon shows heavy rain pushing into the south east.

Arpege 00z, forecast pressure and precipitation, 16:00 BST Sun 29th April

Monday is looking wet in the south and east with a possibility of gales in near the East Coast. The north and west could remain drier and brighter.

The rest of next week is expected to bring quite unsettled weather to all regions. Later on the chance of drier and warmer spells could increase in the south as the Azores high pressure begins to nudge towards the UK.

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Forecast tools

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

1981 - 2010 daily temperature charts

Temperature anomalies

DWD ICON forecast charts

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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

Changeable weather is shown throughout the 16 day period but the chance of drier spells increases from the middle of next week. After a chilly start upper air temperatures recover and become close to the 30 year average. View latest GEFS.