Sumburgh Airport (Shetland Islands) weather

Headline:

Sunny spells and heavy, initially blustery showers

Today:

A bright day with sunny spells and initially blustery showers, these heavy at times with a risk of hail and thunder. Strong westerly winds backing southwesterly and easing. Maximum temperature 7 °C.

Tonight:

Clear spells this evening with showers dying out. Cloud increasing through the early hours with outbreaks of rain reaching Orkney shortly before dawn. Fresh southwesterly winds backing southerly and strengthening. Minimum temperature 2 °C.

Sunday:

Cloudy with occasionally heavy rain clearing east towards midday to leave a brighter afternoon with sunny spells and heavy, blustery showers. Strong to gale force southerly then southwesterly winds. Maximum temperature 8 °C.

Outlook for Monday to Wednesday:

Sunny spells and heavy, blustery showers Monday. Overnight rain clearing early Tuesday then much milder with some sunny spells. Sunny spells Wednesday with a few showers for Shetland, winds easing.

Signs are that much of the UK will see a period of more settled weather for part of this period at least. Very early on, some wet and windy weather is likely across the far northwest but this will be short-lived. It is likely to quickly turn more settled everywhere, with most places predominantly dry. Temperatures will fluctuate between being milder than average to colder than average, so it is possible we could see some overnight frost and fog, but overall by day there should be spells of pleasant spring sunshine making it feel fine away from coasts exposed to a brisk easterly wind. How long the settled conditions last is less certain with some signals that showers / rain could return later in the period.

Blocked, or slowly evolving, weather patterns are favoured for late March into early April, with high pressure probably building to the north or northeast of the UK. Whilst confidence is low in how this will influence the weather across the UK, this tends to lead to a more prolonged period of a certain weather type, be it settled or unsettled. In any case, a reduction in Atlantic-dominated weather patterns is likely, although some wet weather remains possible at times, perhaps more especially in the south and east whilst northwestern areas tend to be drier than average. Temperatures will probably be close to average for the period as a whole, but there is an increased chance of some colder conditions developing for a time with a risk of frost.