We may be heading towards the end of April but a sharp blast from Mother Nature in the next few days will remind us that this time of year is still capable of delivering snow and frost which isn't good news for farmers, growers and wildlife. A cold front sweeping southwards today will introduce Arctic winds across most parts of the country with some of the air this week likely to be as cold as anything seen during the winter. However the sun is much stronger now so it will modify that air mass to some extent, nonetheless we are still expecting widespread night frosts and plenty of heavy, wintry showers to feature.
Back to this morning and many central and southern parts of England and Wales are starting off dry with some bright or sunny spells around, but a band of cloud with some rain, associated with that cold front, is now moving south across central and southern Scotland along with Northern Ireland. This rain continues to push south today, perhaps bringing one or two heavier bursts at times but generally amounts across the south will be small again by the time the cold front arrives later this afternoon and into the evening. Colder and more showery conditions follow this rain band, arriving across Scotland this morning before extending down into Northern Ireland and northern England this afternoon, the showers turning increasingly heavy and wintry with some significant snowfall across the Scottish mountains by the end of the day. Temperatures will reach highs of 14°C or 15°C in the south but it will be turning much colder over Scotland with values dropping back into single figures.
Cloud and rain in the south clears tonight and then it turns clearer and colder across the country with a widespread frost forming, especially for central and northern regions. Heavy showers will continue to feed in from the north and northwest across exposed coastal regions with further snow accumulating over higher ground, but even some lower regions in the north could see some snowfall with a risk of ice. Tuesday is then set to be a showery day with showers breaking out widely over inland regions, the showers heavy with a risk of hail and thunder, and snow is possible just about anywhere although accumulations will mainly be reserved for higher regions.
METEOROLOGIST: BARBER
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