At this time of year, it is not unusual for us to experience big variations in temperature and over the next few days that is certainly what we are going to see.
The current milder weather many of us have had recently is going to give way to a short, sharp, cold snap lasting through Friday and into Saturday.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist Frank Saunders said,
“Bands of showery rain will continue to cross the UK today (Thursday) before cold air from the north pushes across the country on Friday.
“A cold front will bring a band of rain and blustery conditions for many and there will be a marked drop in temperatures, with some places seeing a fall of 5 or 6 C between today and Friday. There will be some wintry showers in places with some lying snow possible at times over hills further north.”
Saturday will start cold with a risk of frost in places before we start to see a return to a southwesterly air flow bringing milder, wetter conditions, especially in the west, for the rest of the weekend and the start of next week.
Drier Sunday/Monday
Many western hills will see some heavy rain through Sunday and Monday whereas parts of the east and southeast could stay relatively dry.
This pattern looks likely to continue into the middle of next week when, once again, we expect to see a change in the weather. Although there are still some uncertainties in the outlook there are signs a high pressure system could develop by the end of next week allowing cold air from the north to return across the UK bringing another dip in temperatures for Easter weekend and a risk of wintry showers in places at times.
Easter Records
The coldest Easter weekend on record is 2013 when -12.5C was recorded at Braemar in Aberdeenshire, Scotland (Easter Sunday).
The deepest snow recorded on an Easter weekend was in 2010 when 36cm was measured at Strathdearn, Invernessshire, also in Scotland (Good Friday).
While the wettest was in 1991 when 108.7mm of rainfall was recorded at Seatoller, in Cumbria (Easter Monday).
Regular updates
To keep up to date with the forecast and check the detail for Easter check the forecast on the Met Office Website, app or social media.
Keep up to date with the latest forecast and check the detail for Easter for your area by using the forecast pages and following Met Office on Twitter and Facebook, as well as using the app which is available for iPhone from the App store and for Android from the Google Play store.
News shared by the Met Office in their own words, Ed
Image: Matthew Henry under CC BY 2.0
