Hi All,

Not what we needed really as the rain forecast for Friday duly arrived and turned to snow overnight and into the morning in a line north of Northampton. Ireland, the south-west of England and Wales in particular also got clattered with torrential rain topping 30mm plus. We had heavy snow here but it’s gone now as the combination of a strong, drying wind and 5°C temperature has thawed it. Further south I know some of you missed the rain completely and have had decent temperatures, I’m happy for you.

The big question mark and the reason for sending this mini-update concerns later today and Saturday. We have another band of rain moving into the the UK later today and through the night and the big question mark is whether this will fall as further snow through the day and lead to a covering and more course / pitch closures. At present I’m sad to say that’s how it’s looking with a ridge of cold air pushing south and that means snowfall will occur further south than today, but I must stress it could easily fall as rain and in addition, the exact amount of snow / rain / sleet falling is difficult to predict. Certainly The Midlands north are a safe bet for more snow on Saturday, with the question being how far south this snow line extends down to. Ireland may also be affected along the east coast of Leinster during Saturday, particularly over higher ground, but the snow showers should become more isolated as we go through the day on Saturday and Sunday at present is looking dry.

As usual with the inherent unpredictability of snow, I’d suggest clicking on the radar on Meteoblue through the day to see where the moisture is actually falling because this is the best guide. To view this click here.

The next question I’m getting is “When is it going to end and will it affect Easter ?”

Well, we’re still in a trough pattern and so the potential for cool / cold air to cause issues remains and will remain until the pattern shifts, either sideways or upwards. The predicted signal from the jet stream is still there for a change towards the end of next week, with a milder southerly / south-westerly airstream pushing temperatures up, so all we can do at present is hope this comes to pass and knuckle down for one more week possibly.

I’ll be doing my usual update on Monday morning, so I’ll have more of an idea then if the predictions are still on track. I’d love to say “Have a good weekend”, but I know it’ll be a tough one for most.

All the best

Mark Hunt