Met Office forecasts late snow even as weather gets warmer for many

Heavy rain will continue with showers turning wintry in some places

More rainfall is set to lash parts of the UK, with contrasting weather in the north and south bringing freezing temperatures and milder warm weather at the same time, the Met Office forecast shows.

Heavy showers continue to dominate the weather across the country over the weekend, the forecast shows, with showers turning wintry in the north on Friday and Sunday.

Even as the weather remains milder in the south with temperatures higher than average – crossing 18C in St James Park in London on Thursday – some snowfall is expected on higher ground in the Scottish highlands with temperatures dipping, Met Office maps show.

On Friday, heavy rainfall will continue, particularly in southern regions, with a gradual shift expected over the weekend.

A band of cloud and rain moved into the country on Thursday, stretching across southern Scotland, gradually moving southwards overnight.

Despite mild temperatures, the southern regions experienced heavy and blustery showers from the southwest as clearer spells developed in the north.

Rainfall forecast for Friday morning (Met Office)

The Met Office forecast shows the rain band will continue to move southeast, with sunny spells and showers also expected elsewhere.

“There will be some pretty hefty showers around on Friday, another pretty mild one across the south, never a dry picture when low pressure is dominating, sitting right across the UK,” said Alex Deakin, meteorologist at the Met Office.

He added that some of these can have “big showers, even maybe the odd rumble of thunder” with the weather turning quite gusty as well.

Mr Deakin said temperatures in the north could turn “quite chilly” and “may even dip down to freezing in rural parts, whereas further south it will be another pretty mild night”.

Met Office maps show areas expected to see some snow in grey and white (Met Office)

The weekend continues to present a mixed bag of weather conditions. Saturday is expected to start colder and drier, with frost expected in the north and cloudier skies in the southwest.

Rain could spread northeast, particularly affecting the southwest, before clearing to blustery showers on Sunday and Monday.

Despite the initial chill, temperatures were forecasted to turn milder over the weekend.

While showers remained a constant threat, the south and east of England were expected to see another mild day, with temperatures reaching 15 to 16C.

However, northern regions would experience colder air due to northerly winds, with southeast Scotland particularly feeling the chill and perhaps some more snow, Met Office maps show.

This north side divide is due to a “mild Atlantic flow” bringing warm air while a “cool northerly wind” enters north on Friday which will allow temperatures to dip giving a widespread frost across Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England, the Met Office said.