19/08/2014 Weather for the Week Ahead

Hello. It looks like we'll see some changes to our weather patterns

over the weekend into the early part of next week.

More of that in a moment because for the next few days,

the weather's going to be pretty similar.

We've got this pattern set up at the moment,

a large area of low pressure to the East,

a big area of high pressure to the West, we're between the two.

Follow the isobars, they head all the way up to the Arctic,

and that is where our air is coming from.

With these northerly winds, it's always going to remain pretty chilly.

A fair few showers around.

Could be a wet start across Northwest England, North Wales, the Midlands.

That zone of showers becomes more scattered for the afternoon.

We're just left with a sprinkling of showers,

and for many it will be a dry and a bright afternoon,

but with those northerly winds, it's not going to be warm.

15 or 16 Celsius for most towns and cities,

quite a few degrees below the average.

Tomorrow night's going to be cold as well.

The showers will steadily fade through the evening

and the winds will die down, and with long clear spells,

temperatures will be plummeting widely, even in urban areas

down to single digits, and in rural areas up and down the UK,

we'll be at 3 to 5 Celsius as we start Wednesday.

Wednesday's pressure pattern still shows high pressure

out to the West, low pressure over Scandinavia,

so we've still got the northerly flow but there's not as many isobars

on the chart on Wednesday, so the winds won't be as strong.

Cold, but a potentially sunny start,

a scattering of showers again developing,

but for many it will stay dry.

Maybe some more persistent rain to the Northwest later on.

With lighter winds, it might feel a touch warmer on Wednesday,

but those temperatures still below average,

still most places struggling to get into the mid-teens.

For Wednesday night and Thursday, an area of low pressure develops

and pushes southwards, again coming down from the North.

Where this weather front lies, that will enhance the showers.

It looks like Northern areas see the wettest conditions on Thursday.

Further South, many places dry and bright, just a scattering of showers,

but again only 13 to 14 Celsius.

Friday, that weather system is further South

so that's where the emphasis will be,

something a bit drier further north.

But it's still on the cool side.

Into the weekend, Bank Holiday for some.

High-pressure is moving in towards the UK.

That low-pressure disappearing across Scandinavia, so actually,

certainly the first day of the weekend looks quite promising.

Dry and bright, yes, a cold start, one or two scattered showers,

chiefly in the East, but many places having sunny spells,

and with light winds, temperatures a little bit higher.

So for the rest of this week, the weather patterns are pretty static

because the jet stream is fairly feeble

and it's well to the South of the UK, allowing the colder air,

so it stays chilly for the rest of the week

with that mixture of sunshine and showers.

The change comes at the weekend into the early part of next week,

when the jet stream becomes a bit faster

and it looks like it will be moving more directly from West to East.

It may not be in this exact position

but somewhere across the UK it will be driving its way in.

When this happens, you tend to get more active areas

of low pressure close by to the UK,

or just to the North, and it certainly means the winds

will be more coming in from the West rather than the North.

It perhaps won't be as cold,

but with low-pressure nearby, that's never going to be settled.

These low-pressure systems coming in will continue to bring

showers on Sunday and Monday.

Showers mostly focused on the West with drier conditions in the East,

and it will often be breezy, but as I said,

it won't be quite as cold, certainly not at night. Goodbye.