WIREDGOV

he first week of April will see clear skies and warm sunshine for many, though a breeze and cold seas will make coastal areas slightly cooler.

With high pressure becoming established this week, the start of April will be warm and sunny across the UK. After light rain clears the north of Scotland on Monday, there will be a consistently dry spell of weather for the whole of the UK.

With the area of high pressure situated to the northeast of the UK, there will be a strong breeze across the southern half of the UK through the start of the week. In windward coastal areas this will make things feel a little cooler as the sea surface temperatures have yet to recover from their coldest time of the year.

Today’s weather

After a cloudy start in Northern Ireland, the far north of England and most of Scotland, breaks in the cloud will develop bringing more sunshine by evening. Highs of 17°C are possible in northern England where the cloud does break. Further south highs of 18°C are likely in southeastern England where skies will remain clear through the day.  

Weather this week

Tuesday will see a sunny start for nearly everyone across the UK, with some cloud in central parts of England burning off through the morning. With a breeze developing across the south of the UK temperatures will be kept a little lower here through the day, with the highest temperatures likely in the northwest of England and north Wales where 19°C is possible.

Wednesday will be another day of widespread sunshine, with temperatures possibly reaching 20°C, especially in northeast Scotland where the Foehn effect will amplify temperatures during the day.

Thursday is likely to bring the highest temperatures of the week, with 21-22°C possible for southern parts of England. Temperatures will be widely in the high teens across the UK. However, low cloud moving in from the North Sea will keep temperatures lower along the east coast through Thursday and Friday.

Under largely cloudless skies, nights will remain chilly with frosts possible through the week, mainly in rural areas.

Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Paul Gundersen, said: “The UK will have a sunny start to April this week. Temperatures will slowly build, with highs of 21-22°C possible by Thursday. Other than a small chance of some light rain grazing the far southwest of England it will be a dry week too. At this time of the year, we do start to see higher UV levels, so if you are outside enjoying the sunshine do think about protecting yourself from the sun as even in April it is strong enough to burn your skin.”

UV levels reach moderate levels

Even though we’re still in Spring, UV levels are starting to reach moderate levels, where protection is needed to prevent your skin from burning. You can see forecast UV levels on our website and app, we also have information about UV and how to protect yourself on our website.

Further ahead

High pressure will continue to persist through the end of the week and into the weekend, with sunny conditions and warm temperatures in the west of the UK.

Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist, Mike Silverstone, said: “As the area of high pressure moves slightly further west it will allow some cloud to move into eastern areas of the UK. In western parts, under largely cloudless skies, temperatures of up to 20°C are forecast for Friday. High pressure is forecast to remain dominant through the weekend and indeed at the start of next week, meaning a prolonged spell of settled weather for the UK with little in the way of rainfall and plenty of sunshine. Temperatures are likely to ease off though.”

Dry and sunny March comes to a close

Tuesday marks the start of April and we’ll be releasing the full statistics for March which has been a particularly sunny and dry month for most. Keep an eye out on our social media channels and our website for the release at lunchtime on Tuesday.

Keep up to date with weather warnings, and you can find the latest forecast on our website, on YouTube, by following us on X and Facebook, as well as on our mobile app which is available for iPhone from the App store and for Android from the Google Play store.