TEMPERATURES will plunge to -3C this evening as a weekend washout will bring heavy rain and 50mph winds.

Large parts of the UK will be covered in frost overnight as winds start to batter Britain this weekend.

Both Saturday and Sunday have been described as a “story of two halves” with it being wet in the south and dry in the north today.

However, Sunday will see the exact opposite – with the weather being much nicer in the south and wet and windy in the north.

Parts of Scotland will feel the force of the strongest winds this weekend where gales could reach up to 50mph.

And this evening temperatures are set to plunge to below freezing with parts of Wales, the Midlands, southern England and the Scottish borders experiencing lows of -3C tonight and the early hours of Sunday.

But temperatures will start to pick up from Monday and parts of the south and London area could experience highs of 24C by the middle of next week.

Steven Keates, a Meteorologist at the Met Office, told The Sun Online: “The weekend is a story of two halves but everywhere should have one decent day this weekend.

“Cloud and persistent rain over England and Wales will slowly drift across to the south east and East Anglia which will be wet today.

“A strong north easterly wind will make it feel pretty grim with temperatures remaining in single figures.”

The lowest temperature today is expected to be in Birmingham with it plummeting to 8C – 10C colder than it was yesterday.

Steven added: “The rain will clear tonight and light winds will allow for some frost to hit large parts of the UK including Wales, Oxfordshire and Devon.

“Temperatures could plummet to -3C so if you’re walking home in the early hours you’ll notice the nip in the air.”

Describing next week, he added: “Once the rain is out of the way there is a dry picture for the bulk of England and Wales next week.

“Temperatures are expected to reach 24C in eastern and southern England by the middle of next week.

“If you can get through this weekend, things are looking up.”