Will the weather warm up this weekend?

It's been a rather cool and unsettled first half of July, but it does look as though things will turn a little warmer and drier over the next few days, although it's not a completely dry outlook through the weekend.

Low pressure in the North Sea is likely to push a little rain across eastern parts of England and Scotland, whilst a few afternoon showers may bubble up across southern and western England, Wales and Northern Ireland. There will also be some sunny spells, especially in the south and west. Temperatures will be around 15 to 19C, that’s about 2 to 3 degrees below average for this time of year.

The northern half of the UK will still be rather cloudy, with just a few showers lingering and highs around 15 to 18C. Further south, the sunshine will be more extensive, and that will lift temperatures to between 19 and 22C.

Although the longer range outlook is looking a bit more optimistic, Monday may well bring an area of low pressure in from the Atlantic, with a scattering of heavy, thundery showers. Some of these downpours could linger into Tuesday, especially for Scotland. Then midweek onwards sees higher pressure building, with a quieter and slightly warmer trend towards the end of the week, although a few showers are still possible towards the north.