Weekend outlook - A wet and windy start to spring

We welcome spring with a remarkably unspringlike weekend, with low pressure still in charge and bringing sharp showers and gale-force winds.

The weekend begins with lingering rain departing to the east of the UK, becoming increasingly sunny as the morning moves on to the west. By the evening, heavier rainfall moves into more northerly areas. Highs of around 12 °C in southern England.

In Ireland, it's a sunny and, in places frosty, start after temperatures dip into freezing Friday night.

Showers and cloud cover move through from the west during the day with highs of around 11 °C felt in the south-west. A heavier band of rain arrives late in the night.

A wetter start on Sunday, with heavy rain spanning much of the UK, becoming snowy over higher ground too. The main area moves to the east by midday as yet more rain moves in from the west to replace it.

Strong gusting winds are expected, reaching up to around 50 mph around the south-west English and western Welsh coasts.

Gusts across coastal Ireland are a little stronger, around 55 mph (90 km/h) to the west and southern coasts. Heavy rain here may also result in surface flooding.