Headline:

Dry and bright start with snow showers later.

Today:

Dry in the morning with bright spells and quite breezy at first but winds gradually falling lighter. Cloudier in the afternoon with a few snow showers spreading from the northwest. Cold. Maximum temperature 3 °C.

Tonight:

Cloudy evening for Shetland with snow becoming persistent for a time, becoming dry overnight with clear spells. Clear spells at first for Orkney, cloudier later with perhaps the odd shower. Minimum temperature -1 °C.

Wednesday:

Mainly dry and cold with bright spells or some hazy sunshine but the chance of a few snow showers, mainly across Shetland. Maximum temperature 4 °C.

Outlook for Thursday to Saturday:

Mainly dry on Thursday, rain spreading east in evening. Windy with further rain spreading east on Friday. Showers or longer spells of rain on Saturday.

Remaining changeable to begin with, as Atlantic low pressure systems push east over or to the north of the UK. This means further spells of wet and at times windy weather, interspersed with brighter, showery interludes. Some heavy rain is likely, especially across high ground areas in the west and north, though some sheltered eastern and southern parts may see comparively little rain. It will like be relatively mild overall, though some occasional colder spells are possible, particularly in the north. Around the turn of the month, there is a signal that high pressure will become more dominant, meaning more in the way of dry weather developing.

This period may start of predominantly settled, with high pressure close by to the UK. However the orientation of any anticyclone and its location relative to the UK is much more uncertain, which has knock-on effects on the type of weather we can expect. Towards mid March, there are indications that more generally changeable conditions of Atlantic origin may develop once more, with a return to spells of wind and rain at times.