A huge swathe of Britain looks to be in for a battering with heavy rain stretching from north west Scotland to south Wales in a matter of days.
The latest weather maps show a band of rain from Ullapool in the Scottish Highlands down to the Lake District and southwards over the Irish Sea into Wales, according to WX Charts.
Rainfall totals could be up to 48mm in Dumfries & Galloway, 37mm in Cumbria and 74mm in parts of Gwynned, Powys and Conwy by midday on March 16.
Counties in south Wales might see anything up to 34mm to 36mm while parts of England could see between 3mm in the Pennines, 8mm to 10mm in the Midlands and 14mm to 15mm in Somerset and Dorset, the maps show.
Much of the rain will be to the western side of Britain with a huge band of rain sweeping in across the Republic of Ireland and into the UK at the weekend.
Met Office spokesperson Stephen Dixon said the outlook for the weekend is a likely continuation of unsettled weather, with bands of rain likely to move from west to east through the weekend.
He added: “While Saturday could start drier for many, low pressure to the west of the UK is likely to push bands of rain from southwestern areas further northeast through Saturday and into Sunday.
“While exact timing is uncertain at present, unsettled weather is likely at times in the weekend for much of the UK.
“Winds will gradually increase in Scotland and Northern Ireland on Sunday, which will also pep up rainfall totals in northern parts of the UK.”
Mr Dixon said there’s a chance of some drier conditions building in from the west later on Sunday, but this is still uncertain at this range.
Met Office UK five day weather forecast
Tuesday, March 12 – Saturday, March 16
Headline: Heavy rain moving east today.
Today: Rain will spread across the UK this morning, turning heavy at times. Heavy rain will gradually clear to the east leaving a drier and cloudy afternoon, although light outbreaks of rain are still possible. Turning windy in the west.
Tonight: Cloudy this evening with outbreaks of light rain in the west at first. Rain will become heavier and more persistent across Northern Ireland and Scotland through the night.
Wednesday: A band of rain will slowly move across northern parts of the UK. Drier in southern England and Wales, but largely cloudy. A windy day, with gales in northern Scotland.
Outlook for Thursday to Saturday: Rain continuing this week, particularly in the west where it will be heavy at times. Some fine and dry weather in the southeast at times. Turning milder through the week.
