Headline:

Dull, damp start. Warm, brighter spells possible before rain later.

Today:

Cloudy and breezy start, with a few outbreaks of rain. Perhaps the odd warm sunnier spell developing early afternoon, along with isolated showers. A band of heavy rain and gusty winds then moves east later, followed by further isolated showers. Maximum temperature 18 °C.

Tonight:

Any rain or showers soon clearing into the evening with clear spells developing. Cloud then thickens again from the west after midnight, with further showers possible. Breezy. Minimum temperature 6 °C.

Thursday:

Breezy start with a mixture of sunny spells and showers, occasionally heavy. Winds will ease through the day, with showers also fading into the evening. Cooler than on Wednesday. Maximum temperature 15 °C.

Outlook for Friday to Sunday:

Light rain clearing Friday morning. Staying cloudy before further rain, occasionally heavy spreads east later in the day. Sunny spells and showers Saturday. Drier, and sunnier with winds easing Sunday.

A few showers around at the start of the period, mainly affecting the far northeast of the UK. For many though Sunday should be fine and dry with spells of warm sunshine. Into the following week fronts associated with another Atlantic low will try to push into the UK, but may struggle to make inroads against an area of high pressure to the northeast and are likely to be held at bay. So for much of next week plenty of dry weather with sunny spells. Some E coasts could be on the chilly side, but further west temperatures likely feeling quite warm. Toward next weekend and beyond likely turning more unsettled with a return of some rain or showers for many.

The dominant pattern during this period is most likely to be high pressure (or higher than average pressure) to the north and lower pressure to the south. This will probably lead to drier and more settled than normal weather in the north or northwest of the UK, with the south and southwest likely seeing a greater chance of some rain at times. Temperatures will probably be close to or slightly above average overall, perhaps becoming more widely warm at times.