SNOW that blanketed parts of Scotland is to give way to cold, wet weather this week, forecasters predict.
The Met Office said that, after a crisp start, the weekend will turn mild and dank today, with rainclouds covering much of Scotland.
Heavy, wintry showers are forecast for the north and north-west in particular and, except for a brief respite tomorrow, continue until Wednesday at the earliest. The rain, sleet and hail showers that hit the east side of the UK cleared into the North Sea yesterday as winds came from the west.
Fraser Ralston, a forecaster at the Met Office in Aberdeen, said: “The general idea is it will be fairly dull and rainy, with some quite heavy rain in the north and north-west on Sunday afternoon.
“It’ll tend to dry up by the evening and Monday doesn’t look too bad.
“It may brighten up with some sunshine, before becoming wet and windy throughout Tuesday and Wednesday. With quite unsettled conditions it’s difficult to say whether that will continue until later in the week or not.
“In terms of temperatures, it won’t be as cold as we’ve seen in recent days.
“It was unusually colds in some areas, but we expect to see that nudging up to nine or 10C by Monday, which is a little below normal.”
Rainclouds will cover much of the UK, with milder air and rain overnight. Victoria Kettley, a forecaster for Meteo Group, said cloud will cover most of the country, with the heaviest and most persistent rain in Scotland.
The south-east of England will start fine and breezy, but cloud will cover most of the country, with the heaviest and most persistent rain in Scotland. The north-east of England has seen snow in recent days, which may continue into this week.
Kettley added: “We can’t rule out more wintry showers – but they will generally be sleet, rain or hail.”