Wet and windy weather is on the way after a largely fine and dry Easter weekend for most of the UK.
High pressure, which has been responsible for the dry and fine weekend weather, will move away to the east, to be replaced by a westerly Atlantic regime, with periods of winds and rain to come.
The Met Office chief meteorologist, Jason Kelly, said: “A change is on the way for the UK weather as the dry, settled and in places warm conditions are replaced by a more unsettled weather pattern from Sunday afternoon.
“This change happens first for Northern Ireland and Scotland, where Sunday afternoon rain will be replaced by blustery showers overnight and into Monday. Elsewhere, a mainly dry, but increasingly cloudy day on Sunday, with rain arriving for parts of Wales and south-west England by evening. Rain spreads east across other areas into Monday, with showers following.”
The wet and windy weather will continue next week, with fronts arriving from the south-west bringing further periods of rain for many from Tuesday.
A developing low-pressure system looks likely to bring a more sustained period of wet and windy weather from Tuesday and into Wednesday, which has resulted in the issuing of yellow wind warnings. The warnings highlight potential travel disruption and the possibility of large waves in coastal areas in the south and west.
The Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Steven Keates said: “The focus for the medium-range forecast is a low-pressure system that’s likely to develop just to the south-west of the UK, potentially bringing a period of high winds and heavy rain late on Tuesday and into Wednesday.
“There’s a distinct possibility of some disruptive wind for parts of the UK, especially in southern and western areas, as well as potential for heavy rainfall and even some snow, though [with] the latter probably confined to high ground in the north.
“Although subject to a large degree of uncertainty, gusts of wind could be in excess of 60 mph in some exposed upland or coastal regions, with around 35-50mm of rain possible for some areas.”
That low pressure is likely to gradually move into the North Sea through Thursday, though there are signs of some further rain to come later next week. Forecasters predict a very windy spell of weather, with gales or severe gales from Tuesday to Thursday, and rain showers interspersed by brief brighter spells.
