Archived articles which have appeared on our homepage since May 7th 2014.
[Updated 08:00 03/05/2018]
High pressure builds over the UK during the coming days. That leads to an increasingly fine and warm period for most of the country but the north west often remains under a more changeable westerly flow.
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Thursday starts dry in much of the UK but it is wet in parts of the north west. Through the day patchy outbreaks of rain spread eastwards across Northern Ireland and Scotland. England and Wales stay dry with sunny spells.
Temperatures range from 8C (46F) in the north west to 18C (64F) in the south east where it will feel warmer than in recent days. See the rain radar for the latest view.
Meteo France Arpege 00z, forecast precipitation, 16:00 BST Thu 3rd May
Tonight eastern areas have clear spells. In the north and west thicker cloud brings spells of drizzle and light rain.
Tomorrow warm sunny spells develop widely but in Scotland and parts of northern England it will be cloudier and there could be some drizzle. Temperatures in the London area should reach 21C (70F).
The prospects for the weekend and May Day look unusually good. A belt of high pressure stretching from the Azores northeastwards across the UK and into Scandinavia is the reason. However in the north west more of an Atlantic influence persists and that brings the risk of rain at times.
On Saturday cooler and damp conditions are expected in the far north west. Elsewhere it should be fine with temperatures widely hitting 21C (70F), or perhaps a couple of degrees higher locally.
The summery spell continues on Sunday in southern and central regions. In the north and west there is more uncertainty as an area of low pressure approaches western Scotland. That brings the possibility of cloudier skies and showery rain.
The May Day bank holiday itself is set to be sunny and very warm in the south but there is just an outside chance of thundery showers pushing up from France. Temperatures could reach 27C (81F). The north should also have a decent day but it won't be as warm.
GFS 00z, forecast pressure and precipitation, 16:00 BST Mon 7th May
There is a lot of uncertainty about next week's outlook. High pressure may continue to bring fine weather, especially to the south. However an increasing number of computer model runs show a changeable westerly flow returning quite quickly in the north. That would bring a renewed risk of showers or longer spells of rain.
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Check the latest satellite images, computer model charts and rain radar:
1981 - 2010 daily temperature charts
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Meteo France Arpege forecast charts
Global Forecast System (GFS) forecast charts
Upper air temperatures climb to well above the 30 year average during the first week of May before gradually dipping away. Mostly dry weather is shown early on but the risk of wet weather increases after May 8th. View latest GEFS.
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