Today’s snow showers could be a distant memory by Bank Holiday Monday as forecasters are hopeful of a much warmer holiday – though they warn it is too early to be sure.

Dan Holley, forecaster at Weatherquest, said temperatures had been “like a yo-yo” between nine and ten degrees Celsius (49F) in sunny spells, but a much cooler four to five degrees (40F) in the showers which at times saw sleet, hail and even snow falling on the region. Both temperatures are around two degrees below average.

“There’s a reason why we call them April showers, as this is the transition time coming out of winter but there is still a lot of colder air,” Mr Holley said.

“There is a lot of cold air in the upper atmosphere coming the Arctic but the sun is warming up causing the unstable weather.

“If it is heavy enough then it can turn to sleet or snow.”

Mr Holley said the freak showers were not as unusual as many thought, adding snow is possible – though much rarer – even in June, but he did add to see such cold weather at the end of April was more uncommon.

The unsettled weather is set to continue over the next few days, but beginning to warm up for the weekend.

“It does not look too bad, at the moment, for the bank holiday with the Monday the warmest at possibly 16C (61F) – but it is all still subject to change,” Mr Holley said.

“There are promising signs.”