Easter 2015 weather: Gale force winds and snow to make way for cloudy Bank Holiday weekend

Some parts of Scotland will be hit with snow showers tonight

A woman shelters under a umbrella as the rain falls on the seafront on May 14, 2013 in Weston-Super-Mare, England. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

The UK is facing a week of turbulent weather, including gale force winds and snow, which is likely to subside in time for the Easter weekend.

The torrential rain and gale-force winds which blighted the country over the weekend are set to continue late into the week. Winds as strong as 50 to 60mph are likely to be widespread, with this figure rising to 60 to 70mph in north western parts of England and the Bristol Channel.

The Met Office has put out a yellow severe weather warning over the vast majority of England, Wales and Northern Ireland today, with a yellow warning for ice over northern and eastern parts of Scotland.

Met Office forecaster Charles Powell told the Press Association that a band of heavy rain will sweep through the West today, with parts of Wales and Cumbria bearing the brunt.

"It will hit southern areas in the mid afternoon. We will see winds picking up again with gales quite widespread across much of the UK," he said.

Met Office Dan Williams spokesman later told The Independent: "It’s going to be pretty windy tonight into tomorrow. We have a yellow weather warning out - that’s the lowest level of warning. We are expecting winds in the region of 50-60mph fairly widely with some spots up to 60-70 most likely in Bristol Channel and north western parts of England."

Addressing reports that an Atlantic storm will hit the UK in the next few days, Mr Williams explained: “We would call it a low pressure system. There is no scientific definition for what an Atlantic Storm is, but the wind is not really powerful enough to be called an Atlantic storm."

He added, however, that the strong winds could cause some “localised impacts”, including downed branches, loose debris, and the “odd tree” coming down.

Mr Williams said that in the areas of Scotland affected by the ice warning, rain will fall and temperatures will drop to around or below 0C overnight tonight, which will potentially cause some ice on the roads and the risk of snow showers falling as snow over higher roads and passes.

The strong winds and showers will continue in the middle of the week before calming down on Friday.

It is still too early to predict how the Easter weekend will pan out, as there is a lot of uncertainty, he said, but added that pressure building in the week will create more settled conditions which will create quieter, more "benign" weather.

"We would also expect that at the moment to be a fair bit of cloud around," he said adding the weather as yet looks mixed "but generally improving."