Weather turning unsettled for the Easter weekend

Pressure chart for midday this Thursday

After a period of settled weather, things will gradually turn wet and windy through the week.

For the next few days the weather across the UK will still be largely dominated by the blocking high pressure. This will continue to bring largely dry conditions to many parts, with some sunshine in which it will feel quite pleasant. However, it will be often rather cloudy and a little rain is possible, especially in the north and west.

On Thursday a frontal system is expected to push in from the west. This will bring wind and rain as it marches eastwards across the UK through the day.

Good Friday is currently looking like the best day of the Easter weekend weather-wise for most people. There may be some lingering rain in the east and southeast at first, but this should clear. Otherwise there is likely to be a good deal of dry weather with some sunshine for most, before further rain edges in from the northwest later.

The rest of the long weekend looks generally unsettled with longer spells of rain interspersed by brighter, showery conditions. Showers in the north could also turn wintry over the hills and it will be windy, with the risk of gales, possibly severe.

Deputy Chief Meteorologist Laura Paterson said "From Saturday onwards we have all the ingredients across the Atlantic for the development of some deep low pressure systems. Indeed, at the moment there are early signs that some quite stormy weather could affect the UK on Easter Monday, although there remains quite a lot of uncertainty in the details of this for now."

Temperatures are likely to be around or a little below normal for the time of year. In the best of any dry and bright weather temperatures may just about get into the low teens, but for some it will be several degrees colder than this, especially in the north.

The change to more unsettled conditions is partly down to the jet stream. This will edge southwards to lie across the UK by the weekend. It is also set to strengthen which means it will turn wetter and windier.