A ridge of high pressure means the working work ends on a relatively fine note across much of Britain and Ireland - before more cloud and some rain spreads into the west in advance of the next Atlantic weather system.

Low pressure to the east is now moving away and will no longer play much of a role in our weather. Instead we look west to see what is coming our way, and unfortunately its another low in time for the weekend. In the meantime, we have a pretty decent day in store today with plenty of sunshine around, helping to lift those temperatures after what was a much cooler start to the day than we have seen for some time. There will be some patchy cloud around, but not enough to spoil the day in many central and eastern areas. However, further west it will be a different story as the cloud will continue to thicken up, and will eventually bring outbreaks of rain into Ireland and the southwest of England and Wales. Temperatures on the whole will be up on recent days, with many places making the low 20's, and with light winds it will feel very pleasant indeed.

Central and eastern areas will remain dry tonight, with clear spells. Cloud and patchy rain will continue in the west, with many coasts and hills becoming misty. This then takes us into an unsettled weekend as outbreaks of heavy rain spread north-eastwards on Saturday, although many northern and eastern parts of the UK will remain dry for much of daylight hours. Rain will gradually clear away from the east on Sunday - although it may be the afternoon or evening before it clears the southeast - with sunshine and showers following. Temperatures will be close to or just above normal, warmest in the southeast.

The unsettled theme continues into next week, although south-eastern areas could be dry and warm for much of the time.

Metcheck Tools
- Next 48 hours
- Holiday Resorts
- Pollen
- Precipicast
- RainRisk
- Weekend Watch

Low pressure over Scandinavia and high pressure to the northwest of Scotland continue to feed in a cool north/north-westerly flow across Britain and Ireland. The winds are strongest in the northeast of Scotland, and will strengthen further today, with gales likely for a time around the most exposed coasts in the far northeast.

Winds are lighter the further south and west that you are, but they continue to feed in a lot of cloud with them. Despite that, there are some good breaks around, and this morning there will be some sunny spells about - especially towards the south of any high ground.

There will be a scattering of showers around again today, mainly for eastern parts of Britain where the winds will be that bit stronger. Most of the showers will be light, but the odd heavier one cannot be ruled out. Temperatures will again be on the cool side, with maximums in the high teens for many.

For the second day of the Ashes Test match in Cardiff, it looks like remaining dry with some sunny spells. Friday looks similar, but the weekend is looking rather wet at times. This goes for many other areas too as low pressure moves in from the west, but it will bring some warmer air with it too. More on this tomorrow!

Metcheck Tools
- Next 48 hours
- RainRisk
- SMS Forecasts
- Premium Home
- Weekly Emails