16 hours Ago By Jon King
Long-range weather maps show snow and a bitter polar freeze returning to parts of Britain. One map generated by WX Charts today (March 25) shows the UK and almost all of Europe plunged into a deep freeze at 6am on Monday, April 7. The same map shows air temperatures ranging from -5C over much of England and Wales on the same date, with parts of Northern and Eastern Scotland just below freezing.
Minimum temperatures at midday on April 8 show a similar north-south pattern, with 0-1C in England and Wales, but 4-6C across northern Britain, according to a second map generated by WX Charts today. This one shows 1C in Greater London, Birmingham and Bristol, but 4C in Greater Manchester, Edinburgh and Belfast, if the maps prove accurate this far ahead. This compares to an average minimum temperature of 4.
8C for the UK in April, with the maximum UK temperature average at 12C, according to Met Office figures. A third map generated by WX Charts shows a rainy, snowy picture for early morning on Wednesday, April 9. At 6am, rain looks set to sweep into western parts of Britain, turning to snow on higher ground in the Highlands and Pennines.
However, it doesn't look likely to come down in droves, with less than a centimetre per hour on that date. Much of the rest of the UK looks set to remain clear, according to WX Charts' map. While WX Charts' maps show the mercury hovering just a few degrees above freezing, the Met Office 's long range forecast (March 29-April 7) suggests the weather will be settled for much of the UK.
It says most places are expected to be dry with clear or sunny spells and light winds. The Met Office adds: "Some periods of unsettled weather could develop at times and if this happens any rain or showers are most likely to affect southern areas. "Temperatures will likely be close to normal overall, though some cold nights are possible at times.
" Netweather's April forecast says lower pressure over mainland Europe and high pressure to the north or northeast increases the chances of "colder-than-average" and "showery conditions" during the start of next month. It says this would predominantly affect the south and west, while it will "perhaps" be drier in the north. Netweather adds: "Then perhaps turning more unsettled and milder across all parts towards mid-month.
Temperatures a little below average before recovering into the second week." Tuesday, March 25 - Saturday, March 29 Headline: Cloudier in the south today with sunny spells further north. Tuesday brings early mist and fog patches.
These will gradually clear in the south. There will be some bright spells near the south coast, but it will generally be cloudy across southern England and Wales with a few spots of drizzle. The north will be drier with warm sunshine.
Tonight will see cloud and drizzle gradually clear from the southeast this evening. It will then be a dry night with mostly clear skies and patchy frost. Fog patches are possible in England.
Wednesday will be dry for many with plenty of warm, sunny spells. northwest Scotland and Northern Ireland are set for thickening cloud and outbreaks of rain later in the afternoon. The outlook for Thursday to Saturday is for a band of rain to gradually move across the UK on Thursday and Friday.
Cooler weather and scattered showers will follow. The west could see more rain on Saturday..
