THE Met Office has warned Brits to “be careful” as rain and snow are predicted to continue through the weekend.
Much of the UK has seen “anticyclonic gloom” over the past week causing dull skies with some areas not having seen the sun in more than a week.
Rain and potentially snow are expected in some places, particularly around East Anglia and Lincolnshire today, and into Scotland towards the beginning of next week.
In a post on X, the forecaster said: “Rain is likely to turn to snow at times across parts of East Anglia this evening.
“Take extra care if you are planning to travel.”
The UK Health Security Agency has issued a cold weather alert covering parts of the northeast of England, Yorkshire and The Humber.
Temperatures dropped to -6.6°C in Altnaharra in the Highland region of northern Scotland last night.
But they could rise to 13°C or 14°C by the middle of the week with sunshine in a number of areas on Monday.
The predicted temperatures are well above February’s average with 6°C the usual monthly average in Scotland and 9°C in southern England.
Met Office meteorologist Jonathan Vautrey said it will be a “noticeable shift” after the last fortnight which was below average.
He added it is not likely to be record-breaking as February’s highest temperature was 21.2°C recorded in 2019 in Kew Gardens.
And more western areas are likely to see some rain during the week while eastern areas are forecast to stay drier.
Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said he did not expect any national records to be broken but some areas could go 10 days without any sunshine which is “near record-breaking”.
Mr Morgan said: “We’ve basically got this battleground taking place over this weekend between cold air across Scandinavia and Central Europe, which is affecting eastern parts of the UK, but towards the west is a little bit milder.
“The Atlantic is trying to shift that cold air out of the way, pushing from west to east across the UK, but it’s a very slow process and it will take until the middle of the coming week for conditions to turn much milder nationwide.”
He explained the gloom “dominating” the UK over the last two weeks has been caused by a “large anticyclone”, or high-pressure system, which has been sitting over Scandinavia bringing cold wind from the east.
“Those cold conditions have picked up a lot of moisture across the Baltic and North seas, and those moist conditions have led to a lot of clouds,” he added.
“That’s why we haven’t seen much in the way of sunshine in most of the UK recently.”
UK 5 day weather forecast
Today:
A cloudy day for many, though some sunny spells in the northwest as well as the southwest initially.
Outbreaks of rain across Northern Ireland and showers affecting eastern Scotland, wintry over hills. Breezy and rather cold for most.
Tonight:
Remaining largely cloudy with outbreaks of rain spreading from Northern Ireland into Scotland and northern England, falling as snow for a time.
Staying drier further south. Patches of frost developing.
Monday:
Rain in the north easing, but further outbreaks reaching Northern Ireland around dusk. Cloud breaking in the south to allow some sunshine.
Windy in the west and north. Rather cold.
Outlook for Tuesday to Thursday:
Further rain pushing into northern and western regions with some hill snow and possible icy stretches.
Drier further south and east with some brighter spells. Often breezy. Slowly turning milder.
