Iceland Volcano Update (Sunday 18th April 7.15pm)
RECENT UPDATES TO ORIGINAL BLOG CAN BE FOUND AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ARTICLE
The frustrating news for those wanting to fly is that according to the very latest forecast, issued in the last 15 minutes, much of England still has ash at around 20,000 ft at 7am tomorrow morning. However, the projection below though shows a definite clearance through Scotland and Ireland with parts of the North of England starting to see a clearance too.
Although ash projections further ahead are not produced by the Met Office, upper level wind forecasts still indicate that an improvement across the country is likely through Saturday, but with potential ash problems should the volcano still be active later on Sunday and into Monday.
It's also worth pointing out that even if the UK sees a clearance through Saturday, there are still large parts of Central and Northern Europe that may still be affected by ash, with obvious potential knock on effects for flight paths crossing these areas.
On a brighter note, for those lucky enough to have clear skies this morning, there's been some vivid 'volcanic' sunrises across our area.
With clearing skies tonight, this evening's sunset could be spectacular
UPDATE 7pm Friday 16th April
Latest update just to hand indicates for 1pm tomorrow much of Northern England in the clear, along with Ireland and Scotland, but the rest of the UK and much of central and Northern Europe still affected by volcanic ash - overall very little change.
Jet2.com's decision to cancel all flights tomorrow is understandable. Although some of the airports it operates from in the North of England may be in the clear during tomorrow, most of their planes would have flight paths through the ash across Continental Europe. It's an indication that disruption may continue into next week for many of the UK's airlines.
Upper level wind forecasts remain the same, with North or North-westerly winds becoming re-established at 20,000ft later on Sunday, so if the volcano continues to be active there's a risk of fresh ash into early next week.
UPDATE at 8am, Saturday 17th April
Latest projections, taking us to 1am Sunday morning again show very little change in the overall position of the plume at 20,000ft. If anything, the plume is seen creeping back northwards towards the Scottish border - and it now covers more of Europe, sinking into parts of the northern Mediterranean. (Sorry for no diagram but I am updating this from home and can't reproduce it)
UPDATE 1pm Saturday 17th April
New projections just in show all of UK and Ireland airspace with ash at 20,000ft at 7am Sunday morning, with the current window of clear air across Scotland and Ireland contaminated by ash again by that time. This implies air space that is currently closed will remain closed until at least 7am on Sunday, with Ireland and Scotland likely to see their airpace closed to aircraft once more - it also suggests there may not be much change through much of Sunday either.
Upper wind forecasts still show if the Iceland volcano continues to erupt, fresh ash could be dragged across the UK through next week.
UPDATE At 7pm Saturday 17th April
Latest forecast shows virtually no change up until and including 1pm Sunday afternoon, with all of the UK and Ireland's airspace affected by ash - together with nearly all continental Europe, with the exception of Mediterranean countries. The plume also now affects areas to the West of Ireland, well into Mid Atlantic.
UPDATE AT 7.15PM ON SUNDAY 18TH APRIL.
Forecast just issued by the Met Office for 1pm Monday afternoon shows all of UK airspace still contaminated by volcanic ash, with very little overall movement. The areas affected do seem to be getting slightly smaller but there is still a wide area surrounding the UK that is affected. The Meditteranean, Spain and Portugal are clear.
Upper level winds into next week are still likely to be Northwesterly, bringing a risk that any fresh volcanic ash could spread Southeastwards towards the UK.
Hello, I’m Paul Hudson, weather presenter and climate correspondent for BBC Look North in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. I've been interested in the weather and climate for as long as I can remember, and worked as a forecaster with the Met Office for more than ten years locally and at the international unit before joining the BBC in October 2007. Here I divide my time between forecasting and reporting on stories about climate change and its implications for people's everyday lives. 
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