Rain, thunder and snow barrelling toward Scotland in spell of stormy weather

Scotland's weekend showers are set to continue into next week as weather maps show thunderstorms and snow approaching.

The grim weather will arrive tomorrow morning (Monday April 15), according to Ventusky weather maps. A stormy front will blast in from the northwest, bringing thunderstorms and snow moving from the Western Isles through the mainland and central belt as the day progresses.

Snow is still in the forecast for the Highlands on Tuesday, with a bout of showers and snow making its way down the centre of the country. Fortunately, the rough weather conditions will clear out towards Europe come Wednesday.

As for the Met Office, the national forecaster predicts sunny spells and blustery showers on Monday. The weather will be "heavy with hail and the odd rumble of thunder" with temperatures feeling cooler.

The upcoming stormy spell follows a blustery weekend. After a clear yet chilly start on Sunday, BBC Scotland Weather meteorologist Judith Ralston reports "showers from the word go" for the west coast and across the northern isles. This wet weather will merge into a longer streak of rain through Sunday, with showers becoming widespread in the afternoon and conditions feeling "pretty brisk".

Overnight into Monday, this precipitation will become increasingly wintry over higher ground. The expert also reports that the start of the week will be blustery day with widespread frequent showers.

There is hope yet for better weather. As reported by The Mirror, a second bout of warmer weather could be en route as maps show a high-pressure system moving in by next weekend.

Looking to Saturday April 20, Met Office forecaster Alex Burkill said: "There is a fairly good chance that we could see high pressure dominating across the whole of the country and that means it is going to turn markedly drier than it has been.

"Not necessarily sunny, there could be quite a bit of cloud around but it does look like we are going to see a more prolonged dry spell than we have seen through many recent weeks and months, to be honest."

Maps from WXCharts indicate the mercury could reach 17C on the west coast next Sunday April 21. Scots on the coast in Aberdeenshire could feel the warmest weather with those in Edinburgh experiencing 15C temperatures.

However, temperatures will be markedly cooler at the start of the week and there could still be plenty of showers on Tuesday before the high-pressure system starts to take hold.

"We are going to see some colder air plunging its way in as we go into the beginning of next week so things are going to turn markedly cooler," continued Mr Burkill.

"What happens there after, well the low-pressure system that is affecting us through the latter part of the weekend and the start of next week, by the time we get to Tuesday, that is going to have shifted away towards Scandinavia and then we see high pressure building from the west.

"So Tuesday is something of a transition day in the sense that there will still be some showery rain around and we will end up with a bit of a northerly flow so quite a bit of a cold direction, so quite a chilly day on Tuesday with some showery rain around.

"But if we skip forward a couple of days and by Thursday we are likely to have high pressure pushing its way in, becoming a bit more dominant across the western parts of the UK, perhaps still some rain around towards the north, but turning drier."

The Met Office's forecast for Thursday April 18 to Saturday April 29 reads: "Through the weekend and into the new week a build of pressure will probably occur, meaning more in the way of dry weather across the UK as a whole. Some rain of light showers will still be possible at times, if these develop they will be more likely to affect the northwest."

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Areas facing stormy weather

Several counties could face gloomy weather including Glasgow, Stirling and the Borders. Here is the full list, roughly calculated by analysing Ventusky weather maps:

• Argyll and Bute

• Perth and Kinross

• Stirling

• East Dunbartonshire

• West Dunbartonshire

• Renfrewshire

• East Renfrewshire

• Glasgow City

• East Lanarkshire

• North Ayrshire

• South Ayrshire

• East Ayrshire

• Dumfries and Galloway

• Scottish Borders

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