Weather trend: Very warm at first, then cooler and slightly changeable conditions

We will get an early taste of summer this week, at least some of us, before things cool down to normal levels again this weekend and beyond, with some rain as well.

Southern Ireland, Wales and most of England will see mainly fine and warm weather on Wednesday and Thursday, with some exceptionally high temperatures for the time of year.

Meanwhile, western Ireland and Scotland remain cloudier and cooler, with perhaps some rain in places as well.

Highs could reach a summer-like 26 to 28C in places across southern and southeastern England, which is actually close to some UK date records.

The high temperatures and modest humidity could set off some isolated showers or thunderstorms Thursday afternoon into Thursday night across England and Wales.

A cooler air-mass from the north will then start to become more influential on Friday and over the weekend, particularly to the north and east.

However, this change to cooler weather actually means a return to average temperatures in comparison.

High pressure building to our northwest will keep things relatively dry through early next week, however, bar a few showers or some patchy light rain in places.

The cooler, slightly changeable pattern looks set to persist into the second week of May, with low pressure possibly increasing chances for wetter, more unsettled weather at some stage.

Temperatures could even drop a little more for a time, with a slight risk of some ground frost returning to northern parts of the UK for a time.