Easter and Good Friday UK weather forecast as ‘changeable’ conditions roll in

While the sun is shining right now, the Easter bank holiday weekend may be a wet one.

The Met Office says we’re going to see both rain and sunny spells across the UK this weekend – and it all kicks off with a yellow weather warning for rain in place on Good Friday and Saturday.

The Easter bank holiday kicks off today, on Good Friday, with Easter Sunday following on April 20.

Thunderstorms may even be on the cards as low pressure comes in from the west of the UK with a mix of warmer weather.

So just what weather can we expect over the long weekend?

Good Friday’s UK weather warning

A yellow weather warning for rain will come into force at 6pm today until 9am on Saturday.

The warning covers much of Cornwall and parts of Devon and the ‘prolonged spell of rain’ could cause difficult driving conditions, travel disruption, or even flooding of some homes and businesses, the Met Office warns.

The warning explains: ‘Rain developing early Friday becomes heavier and more persistent later on Friday and persists into Saturday before easing from Saturday late morning.

’20-40mm of rain is likely to build up widely by Saturday morning and 50-70mm is likely over and near areas of higher ground, especially Dartmoor. Conditions will also be quite windy.’

Easter weekend’s full UK weather forecast

Sharing the Met Office’s full Easter forecast, deputy chief meteorologist Steven Keates said: ‘The Easter weekend is set to bring changeable weather for many. 

‘Some areas may experience near dry conditions all weekend, whilst others may see heavy rain.

‘We are keeping a close eye on an area of low pressure which sinks away to the south on Friday.

‘This could bring with it some heavy, and possibly even disruptive rain for parts of south west England, and also parts of Northern Ireland and south Wales.

‘This will bring the potential for some difficult travelling conditions, with a lot of spray on the roads, and it’s important people keep an eye on our forecast as things evolve over the coming day or so.

‘The low will pull away to the south on Saturday, although the speed and time of the clearance is rather uncertain at the moment.

‘Some rain may linger across parts of the west/south west but elsewhere, many parts will enjoy some sunny spells, with light winds and temperatures around average.

‘Easter Sunday looks to be the widely drier day of the weekend. Cloud amounts will vary, but most places should see some bright or sunny spells at times.

‘Parts of the far south and west may remain cloudier with a few showers around. Temperatures look generally close to the seasonal average.

‘Things probably turn a little more unsettled again on Monday, with outbreaks of rain/showers in the south and west, tending to spread northwards and perhaps becoming heavy at times, though there is currently a lot of uncertainty in the details.’

Easter weekend temperatures

Temperatures are also set to drop to what is considered more average for April – but there should be some warm and sunny spells, especially for those in the south east of England.

On Good Friday temperatures are set to peak at 17°C in London, dropping slightly to 15°C on Saturday and hitting 16°C on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.

Up in Scotland temperatures are expected to remain in single figures across most of the weekend, occasionally rising to 11°C in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Cardiff in Wales could hit a high of 11°C on Good Friday before hitting 13°C on Saturday and 14°C on Sunday and Monday.

And Northern Ireland will also be remaining in single figures for much of the weekend, hitting 10°C on Friday and Saturday and reaching 13°C on Easter Monday.

It comes after the UK has enjoyed a warm and cloudless week, with temperatures on Friday reaching 23.7°C in some parts of the country.

This was hotter than areas in the south of Europe, including Ibiza and Cyprus.

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