Cold, bright and largely dry weather is forecast for much of the UK in time for beer gardens to reopen in England on Monday.

The Met Office has issued yellow warnings for snow, ice and wind in northern Scotland for Thursday and Friday, but slightly more settled weather across the UK is forecast for the weekend and beyond.

Venues including outdoor sections of pubs and restaurants, clothes shops, hairdressers and theme parks will be reopening in England on Monday, along with non-essential shops in Wales and outdoor retailers in Northern Ireland.

Coronavirus – Tue Apr 6, 2021
The weather is expected to be mostly dry and bright on Monday, when non-essential shops in England and Wales are due to reopen (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

In Scotland, many shops including garden centres, hairdressers and homeware stores have already reopened.

Met Office spokeswoman Nicola Maxey said Monday will be “a cold day with bright weather for most”, with average UK temperatures of between 5C (41F) and 10C (50F).

Ms Maxey said southern areas and London could see slightly warmer temperatures of up to 12C (53.6F).

She said: “By the time we get to Monday, it’s certainly looking fine, dry and cold in the south.

“The further north you go, the colder it is and there’s a risk of showery rain for the west side of Scotland and for Cumbria.

“There’s a chance that some of that rain could fall as snow in the high ground in Scotland.”

Coronavirus – Mon Jul 6, 2020
Average UK temperatures of 5C-10C (41F-50F) have been forecast for the first day of beer garden reopenings in England (Jane Barlow/PA) 

She added: “There’s also a chance of frost on Monday and Tuesday morning, following cold nights, with most places likely to see temperatures just touching above freezing.”

In the days before Monday, the weather is likely to be more unsettled, particularly in northern areas.

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for Orkney and Shetland, where strong winds of around 70mph could cause travel disruption between 4pm on Thursday and 2am on Friday.

A yellow warning for snow and ice likely to cause slippery road surfaces has also been issued for these regions and the northern half of mainland Scotland, lasting from midnight until 10am on Friday.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has issued two flood warnings for isolated areas within these regions.

Elsewhere in the UK, Friday is expected to bring sunshine, drizzle and a chance of snow showers, with average daytime temperatures ranging from 1C (33.8F) in northern Scotland to 5C (41F) in London and along the south coast.

Heavier showers are set to hit south-east England on Sunday morning, with dry and bright weather expected elsewhere.

The weekend will also bring cold nights, with temperatures of around 2C (35.6F) in London and just below freezing further north, and average UK daytime temperatures rising to around 9C (48.2F).