Highlands & Eilean Siar

Headline:

Cloudy with patchy rain Wednesday morning. Increasingly dry, bright, warm.

Today:

A generally cloudy start, with some drizzle in the west. Increasing sunshine breaking through in the east and some central areas where it will become very warm. Cloud and patchy drizzle lingering in the Northwest Maximum temperature 23 °C.

Tonight:

A sunny evening in east then some clear spells tonight. Cloudy and misty in northwest, the cloud returning to Lochaber overnight. Minimum temperature 13 °C.

Thursday:

The west staying mostly cloudy, perhaps some drizzle for the Isles, while the east remains dry with bright or sunny intervals and very warm. Maximum temperature 23 °C.

Outlook for Friday to Sunday:

Band of rain moving south on Friday, perhaps heavy, north brightening later. The weekend dry with some sunny spells, best in west with some cloudy starts in east.

Southern areas are likely to start this period very warm, locally hot in the southwest, with heatwave conditions persisting. Somewhat cooler to the north and cloudy with periods of rain and drizzle in the far north. Into the following week, high pressure is likely to build to the north or northwest of the UK, though its exact orientation is rather more uncertain. This would bring a lot of dry weather for many areas, though perhaps an increased chance, relatively to previous days, of showers or thunderstorms in the south. Temperatures probably moderating a little, though remaining above average for many areas.

High pressure is more likely than low pressure for much of July, probably bringing settled and drier conditions. Occasionally this dry and warm weather could be interrupted by outbreaks of rain and stronger winds, which will be more probable in the north or west. As is typical for the time of year, there is a risk of heavy, thundery showers during any warm spells. The signal for predominantly settled weather becomes increasingly unclear towards the end of July. This means unsettled interruptions may become more common, but confidence at this range is low. In any case, temperatures are likely to be above average overall, with a greater than normal chance of hot conditions developing at times, especially in the south.