Monday 28/04/03 to Tuesday 29/04/03
A lively start to the week, as a very vigorous low pressure system races northwards across all parts. During the morning, cloud and rain will spread across central parts, reaching Northern England and southern Scotland by midday. In the south and through the Irish Sea, winds will touch gale force, with gusts exceeding 60mph at first in exposed locations. As the rain clears into Scotland and Northern Ireland, sunny spells and scattered showers will follow with the winds remaining strong and gusty. A mild day for most however, with highs ranging from 14°C and 17°C. By Tuesday, the cloud and rain will linger across the far north, where a strong north-easterly wind will set in. Winds will be a fresh southerly across most other parts, bringing a mixture of sunny spells and showers. The showers will be most frequent in the south and west, some possibly heavy with thunder. Remaining mild for most, but turning rather cooler in the far north of Scotland.

Wednesday 30/04/03 to Thursday 01/05/03
Remaining unsettled during Wednesday, especially across Scotland and Northern Ireland. Here, fronts will swing back south-eastwards once more, bringing cloudy skies and outbreaks of showery rain. Winds will be strong, coming from a northerly direction so it will feel bitter out and about. Elsewhere, south-westerly winds keeping it mild, with a mixture of bright spells and showers. Some eastern areas may stay dry, whereas the heaviest and most frequent showers will be in the south-west. Conditions changing very little during Thursday, with cool, cloudy and damp conditions persisting across the far north, milder with bright spells and scattered heavy showers elsewhere. Towards evening, cloud will increase in the south-west ahead of another low pressure system pushing in from the Atlantic.

Friday 02/05/03 to Sunday 04/05/03
Rain spreading north across all parts on Friday, with strong south-westerly winds increasing once more. The rain will clear to sunshine and showers across England and Wales, but will linger across Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland. The north-west will be cool as winds swing in from the north-east again, but the south and east will remain mild. During the weekend, rain will continue across northern parts, and feeling very unpleasant here with a stiff east or north-east wind. Across the south, it will cool down slightly, but still feel pleasant in the sunshine. There will be a lot of cloud around, with scattered showers, and later on Sunday it looks at this point as if another low pressure system will swing rain in off the Atlantic. As ever, our next update will verify whether this is the case or not.