Dull, grey and damp weather for much of England and Wales

Dull, grey and damp weather will hang over much of England and Wales in the coming days, the Met Office has said.

Maximum temperatures will be slightly below average but areas stuck under the clouds will feel colder than they really are, according to the forecasters.

Little is expected to change over the next two to five days.

Friday night saw temperatures fall to minus 7.4C in Aviemore in the Scottish Highlands, and the lowest recorded temperature in England was minus 1.6C at Culdrose, Cornwall.

Scotland was colder due to clearer skies that are set to continue.

This means parts of the country will see “the best of the weather” in the coming days with “plenty of sunny spells”, unlike much of the UK, said Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst.

However some sunny spells may appear in the western fringes of England, Wales and possibly Northern Ireland on Saturday.

Light easterly winds will add to the cold feeling, Mr Dewhurst said.

Temperatures will peak at around 5C to 7C for most of the UK on Saturday – the average temperature for this time of year is 7C to 9C.

The meteorologist said much of England and Wales will have a chilly start of around 2C to 3C on Sunday but overall the day will be “a touch less cold” at about 6C to 7C.

“There could be some glimmers of sunshine first thing across southern counties of England, but much of England and Wales will be cloudy and dull and grey and damp,” Mr Dewhurst said.

South-east England may turn “pretty wet” by the end of Sunday.

The start of next week will follow the same pattern.

Mr Dewhurst said: “A lot of cloud around, generally an easterly breeze keeping most weather fronts at bay – so staying largely dry – but the clouds thick enough in places for some patchy light rain at times, maybe a little bit of sleet over higher ground.

“Best of the sunshine, probably again northern parts of Scotland.”

It may get brighter by the middle of the week but that forecast is still uncertain.