Heavy rain and strong winds are set to hit East Lancashire later this week – but when is the bad weather set to end?

According to the Met Office, Blackburn and other parts of East Lancashire can expect wet and windy weather for most of the week.

On Wednesday (March 13), a mixture of heavy and light rain is forecast all day. Wind gusts are expected to reach speeds of 33mph.

A mixture of light and heavy rain is also expected on Thursday and Friday. Conditions are set to improve at the weekend, with a mixture of light rain, cloud and sunny spells expected on Saturday and Sunday.

The outlook is similar in Burnley, Pendle, Hyndburn, Ribble Valley and Rossendale.

Flood warnings are in force across Lancashire today (March 12).

There is a flood alert in place for the coast at North Morecambe Bay and for the Wyre estuary, from Fleetwood and Knott End to Little Eccleston.

According to the Met Office’s long range forecast, the unsettled weather is expected to last until the end of March or start of April. Northern areas are expected to be “drier compared to normal” and temperatures could be “slightly above average”.

A Met Office spokesperson said: “The weekend will be broadly unsettled but mild pattern continues.

“After a relatively bright, start cloud and rain likely increasing from the west and southwest on Saturday, with rain spreading to all areas by the late evening, this likely clearing overnight, setting the scene for a more showery day on Sunday, some of these potentially heavy especially in the west.

“Into the new week temperatures trend down toward just above average for the time of year as the broadly unsettled pattern continues with some brighter breaks interspersed with periods of rain, heaviest in western areas, with a risk of thunderstorms mainly in the south.

“During late March and into the start of April, pressure is likely to remain higher than average to the north of the UK.

“This pattern tends to push the focus of unsettled weather further south than usual, with highest rainfall most likely to be in the south of the UK.

"Northern areas tend to be drier compared to normal. Temperatures will probably be near average or slightly above overall, with any cooler interludes most likely in the north.”