Monday 20/09/04 to Tuesday 21/09/04
As suggested in earlier forecasts, the start of next week will see a continuation of the unsettled, wet, and often windy weather. On Monday, a band of heavy rain will spread south-eastwards across most parts during the day, although the south-east of England may remain dry and bright until late afternoon. Behind this, there will be a mixture of sunshine and showers, heaviest and most frequent across parts of Ireland. Thicker cloud and more persistent rain will return to northern Scotland in the afternoon. Windy everywhere, with the risk of gales in Scotland and Northern Ireland. On Tuesday, any thicker cloud and patchy rain will clear away from southern England, and as a ridge of high pressure builds in from the west, much of England and Wales will then have a dry day with some pleasant sunshine. There will be brighter skies across Scotland and Ireland too, but it will remain rather windy here with the threat of one or two showers.

Wednesday 22/09/04 to Thursday 23/09/04
On Wednesday, the south of England, Wales and Ireland will be mostly dry with further spells of sunshine. A band of thicker cloud may produce a few showers across northern England and Wales, although most places even here will remain dry. The westerly winds will remain strong once again across Northern Ireland and Scotland, feeding in a good deal of cloud with rain in the west. Sheltered eastern areas may remain dry with occasional warm sunshine though. The area of high pressure close-by will keep a good part of England, Wales and Ireland dry through Thursday, with hazy spells of sunshine. Feeling quite warm here too with only a light wind. The weather will remain more unsettled across northern England, Northern Ireland and Scotland though. Here, brisk westerly winds will strengthen through the day, with the risk of gales later. These will be accompanied by a lot of cloud and showery bursts of rain moving in from the west.

Friday 24/09/04 to Saturday 25/09/04
The westerly winds will continue to blow through Friday, giving near-average temperatures for most. With some decent spells of sunshine once again, it will feel warmer across southern England and south Wales though. The wind may reach gale force in exposed parts of western Scotland through the afternoon, and outbreaks of rain will become heavy here. Rain will also affect parts of Northern Ireland and northern England, perhaps as far south as north Wales by evening. Through Saturday and Sunday, the high pressure looks like keeping conditions fine and settled across southern parts, and it will become increasingly warm. However, it'll stay very unsettled across the north and west, with some heavy spells of rain and strong to gale force winds spreading in off the Atlantic. As ever, please check back for further forecast updates.