Arctic air is set to keep pushing across the UK, and after a brief milder spell on Tuesday, temperatures are expected to fall again by Wednesday. The change will be felt most sharply by midweek, when much of the country is likely to stay below the mid-May average.
Tuesday began on a frosty note across much of England and Wales, but a weak weather front over Scotland and Northern Ireland kept the frost away there and brought a little rain. Scattered showers are expected to follow, mainly across Scotland, Northern Ireland and later northern England, before daytime temperatures briefly return to average at about 12-17C from north to south.
That short-lived recovery will not last. From Wednesday, northerly winds are expected to drag colder Arctic air in from northern Scandinavia and the Arctic circle, sending temperatures around 3-7C below average. Low pressure will also become more dominant, bringing strengthening winds and more showers, some of them wintry, with snow possible over high ground in Scotland.
Further ground frost is still likely, which will make the cold spell feel closer to winter than spring in some places. The highest temperature of the year so far was 26.6C at Kew Gardens in London in early April, but that warm spell now feels far away. Spring is a season of quick changes, and the direction of the wind can make a major difference in the UK: southerly winds can pull in warmth from the Mediterranean and lift temperatures into the high twenties, while this week’s northerly flow is doing the opposite.
For people in Belfast and across the rest of Northern Ireland, the key change is timing. Tuesday offers only a brief reset before the colder air tightens its grip again, and the next round of showers and frost is expected to arrive just as many areas have started to adjust to spring-like conditions.
