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Plenty of warm sunshine this afternoon across central, southern and eastern England, but low cloud in the west and for Wales could bring a little rain. Scotland and Northern Ireland will be cloudier and breezier with more rain, but mostly light. Temperatures for all will be above average for September. This is the Met Office UK weather forecast for the afternoon of 21/09/2026. Bringing you today's forecast is Alex Burkill.

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00:00Hi there, the autumn equinox this week marks the point at which the northern hemisphere starts to
00:06tilt more away from the sun rather than towards it, but it will feel once more like summer with
00:13average temperatures for July expected across south and southeast England at times this week.
00:20Having said that, it's not going to be dry and sunny everywhere. We do have a weather front
00:23moving into the northwest during Tuesday. That sinks into central and western parts of Scotland,
00:28increases the cloud through Northern Ireland as well. You can see how the rain is on and off
00:32pulsating through the day, dribs and drabs primarily, but turning heavier and more persistent for parts
00:37of Northern Ireland by the afternoon. Ahead of that, a largely cloudy day for many parts of England and
00:43Wales, especially towards the north and the west. A few spots of rain, best of the sunshine in the
00:47southeast of England, and that's where temperatures will peak at 25, possibly 26 Celsius. Like I say,
00:53these are the kinds of average temperatures we expect in July rather than late September. So
00:59a very warm day for the time of year, low 20s further north and west. Even where we've got those
01:04outbreaks of rain across Scotland and Northern Ireland, it's not cold, but it's not going to feel
01:08very pleasant either. Now, that weather front initially is a weak affair. It's running into high
01:14pressure at the surface, but when you look higher up in the atmosphere, there's this little dip in the
01:19jet stream that's approaching the UK for later Tuesday into Wednesday, and it actually sharpens.
01:24Now, there's some uncertainty at the moment about how much this will sharpen as it approaches the UK
01:30and its exact location, and that's important because it's going to increasingly interact with
01:36our weather front as it runs south into southern and eastern Scotland and northern England by the start
01:41of Wednesday. This little dip in the jet stream, otherwise known as an upper trough, well, that's an area of
01:47low pressure higher up in the atmosphere. It can cause the air to rise. It can cause the rain along
01:51the front to intensify, and you can see the difference by the start of Wednesday that that
01:55makes. We've got the rain heavy at times for eastern parts of Northern Ireland, southern and central
02:00Scotland, eastern Scotland, and into the far north of England. A miserable start to the day, poor conditions
02:06for the morning rush. It does push south into northern and central England, parts of Wales as well.
02:12It's a very showery affair by the time it reaches central areas of the UK. You can see how this
02:17heavy rain at times could cause some issues, especially for southern and eastern Scotland,
02:22the far north of England, for example, earlier in the day. Ahead of it, we keep some of that warmth,
02:27but increasingly cloudy skies mean that temperatures won't be quite as high as Tuesdays. As the front clears,
02:33we've got clearing skies towards the north and the west, albeit with fresher air arriving,
02:37and high pressure returning for a time on Thursday. So Thursday starts off with those
02:43clearer skies overnight and lower humidities. It's actually going to be rather cold. Having
02:48seen the autumn equinox on Wednesday, well, Thursday morning will feel very autumnal out
02:55there with temperatures widely in the single figures and in some spots, for example, rural
03:00Wales, northern England, four degrees, rural parts of Scotland down to one or two degrees,
03:06a touch of frost in places. But a bright start to the day widely across the country. We keep those
03:11sunny skies for many areas into the afternoon, with light winds towards the east. Actually,
03:17in the sunshine, despite that cold start, we're still managing to get to the high teens, low 20s.
03:24But it clouds over for Scotland and Northern Ireland, increasingly breezy ahead of the next system,
03:30which will bring some rain into the far northwest. In fact, that's going to be a strong wind
03:34accompanying the next weather front. It's attached to this very deep area of low pressure, which is
03:39heading towards Iceland, well away from the UK. But the front dangles in across Scotland,
03:44Northern Ireland and tightly packed isobars in the far northwest means there's the risk of
03:49gales and exposed parts of northwestern Scotland during Friday. The rain sinks south across Scotland
03:55and Northern Ireland early Friday, but it's going to be coming and going through the day. I think it
04:01will eventually affect Northern England, parts of West Wales and perhaps even Cornwall as the day
04:06progresses. Ahead of that, sunnier spells and after another cool start to the day in the southeast,
04:12temperatures still managing to get towards the mid-20s. But it's going to feel notably cooler
04:18towards the northwest, where that strong wind will be blowing in frequent showers behind the main band
04:24of rain. So this band of rain, there's some uncertainty about it's exact location as we go through Friday
04:30and the intensity of the rainfall. Either way, it tends to peel away for the start of the weekend and
04:36then a repeat performance this weekend. Low pressure systems heading towards Iceland, weather fronts
04:42pushing into northwestern parts of the country, but high pressure clinging on towards the southeast.
04:46So this northwest-southeast contrast continues on Saturday and Sunday. The further northwest you are,
04:54the more likely you are to get some rain at times, strong breeze, etc. The further southeast you are,
04:59the more likely you are to experience drier, sunnier and really quite warm weather for the time of year.
05:06As always, keep you updated right here on our YouTube channel. But for now, that's all from me. Bye-bye.
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