01/05/2016 Weather for the Week Ahead

Hello. Fair to say most of us were glad to see the back of April.

We had rain, hail, sleet and snow and temperatures well below average,

but we closed out the month

with something a little more traditional -

sunshine and sharp showers.

Now these Weather Watchers' pictures illustrate the stories beautifully.

The showers gathered in strength and momentum into the afternoon,

some with hail, even some rumbles of thunder.

For Sunday, the first day of May,

we keep this west to east divide

and the first week of May

looks pretty interesting. Keep listening.

The best of the drier, sunnier weather

likely across East Anglia and the south-east corner.

Clouding over a touch through the Midlands.

A band of more persistent rain

staying out into the west.

By the middle of the afternoon,

it's going to be wet and rather breezy

through Northern Ireland, Western Scotland,

perhaps sheltered eastern areas, east of the Pennines,

just seeing the odd spot or two

of light rain here, but north-west, well,

the rain persistent all afternoon.

The same for Wales.

South-west England, some poor visibility,

some low cloud

and some light, patchy rain as well.

Into the Midlands, East Anglia,

the south-east corner should stay dry and sunny

and, here, pleasant as well in the sunshine.

We should see highs of 15 or 16 degrees.

A milder feel generally continuing across the country,

with highs of around 10-16 Celsius.

Now, as we move out of Sunday

into Monday, Bank Holiday Monday,

there's a chance for more persistent rain.

Light and patchy through the night,

but heavier rain,

stronger winds start to gather.

Yes, coming from a westerly direction,

so still milder, but there will be

a spell of wet weather from west to east.

As it clears the south-east corner,

it leaves behind a trail of showers

and highs generally

of 10-15 degrees once more.

But we start to see that weather front

moving out of the way.

A brief frontal system up into the far north-west

continues to run the risk of some sharper showers

and some stronger winds here,

but generally speaking, Tuesday, a good deal

of dry, usable weather in the offing.

Again, the best of the sunshine and warmth

in the south-east corner.

We will start to see a ridge of high pressure

building from the south-west.

Now, the winds rotate in a clockwise direction,

so that means a southerly flow

will start to dominate the weather story.

That's going to drag in something

a little milder towards the end of the week.

It's also going to be responsible for helping

deflect the weather fronts

up into the far north and west.

The high pressure really trying

to keep its grip across the UK.

Weather fronts pushing into the north-west,

so it means really most of the rain

just across north-west Scotland, Northern Ireland.

Central and southern parts of England and Wales

should be largely fine and dry.

More importantly, getting that little bit warmer.

Temperatures into the high teens likely.

Now, the warmer air will continue to dominate the weather story,

particularly as we move towards Friday and into the weekend.

We could see 20 degrees.

Again a good deal of dry weather.

Perhaps just cloudy into the far north.

But how long will it last?

Well, indications are that this warmth,

these russet tones, will stay with us into next weekend

and there is a possibility that we could see temperatures

perhaps into the low 20s, because the jet stream is

sitting in this kind of horseshoe direction at the moment,

and the warm side of the jet

driving those weather fronts to the north and west of us,

and also being responsible for

this southerly air, so yes, warmer.

The chance of some thundery showers,

but also some sunshine.

Enjoy! I'll be back tomorrow.