27/04/2016 Weather for the Week Ahead

Hello there. Gardeners and growers, beware.

We've got a very cold night ahead of us, a widespread frost,

and it really is quite late in the season to be seeing such

a widespread frost.

Earlier on Tuesday, there was some sunshine to be had,

but with the shower clouds building, and when the showers came along,

those temperatures dropped away, and the showers contained a real

mix of rain, sleet, hail, and there was even a few rumbles of thunder.

Here's the big picture for the day on Wednesday.

Low pressure to the east of us, high pressure to the west,

and the resultant is a cold northerly air stream.

Yes, we've been in the cold air for several days,

and we are still in it through the middle of the week.

But at least the winds will be a little bit lighter.

And it is a cold start to the day, a widespread frost,

but some sunshine for some central and eastern areas.

But already in northern and western areas, wintry showers

which will be drifting their way eastwards through the day.

And again, there'll be some heavy showers,

some rumbles of thunder, some hail mixed in and still some snow showers

in northern Scotland and maybe the northern Pennines.

Some sunshine does follow along behind for some western areas,

and in that sunshine it's eight or nine degrees.

Might get 12 or 13 in the London area.

Then through the evening, showers drifting their way ever eastwards.

There's a few wintry ones still to be had,

but for many the skies are clearing,

so again it'll be cold and frosty to start the day on Thursday.

All in all, a better day,

I suspect, particularly for central and eastern areas, dry and bright.

Some showers developing towards the south-west of England, South Wales,

and later in the day we'll start to see some wetter,

windier weather in Northern Ireland.

Again, many places will be in single figures.

In southernmost parts we're going to be just about into double figures.

But that wetter, windier weather in Northern Ireland spreads

across all parts during the day on Friday,

and you'll notice quite a few isobars on the chart, as well.

So it looks like we're going to end the week on a fairly wet

and windy note, the strongest winds probably down

towards the south and west, where the rain's probably at its heaviest.

There's also the potential for some snow over higher ground in Scotland.

That low is still with us on Saturday, slowly pulling

away into the North Sea, but still a lot of isobars wrapped around it.

A very blustery day on Saturday.

And maybe not quite so much rain around in the south-west of the

UK, but there will be plenty of rain elsewhere, I suspect,

although maybe parts of the south-east not doing too badly.

But it will be quite windy.

Northern Ireland not seeing persistent rain,

but some showers come in on that breeze.

Temperatures, though, by this stage pretty much into double figures with

the winds beginning to come in from the Atlantic.

Those Atlantic winds continue into Sunday, bringing weather fronts,

but a reasonable start for central and eastern areas.

We might get 15 degrees before that rain arrives in the London area.

And again, most places should be in double figures.

Now, for much of this week, we've got this sort of jet-stream pattern.

It's snaking its way towards the north-west of Northern Ireland

and down towards the southern counties of the UK.

With a low to the east, a high to the west,

we get that cold air coming down from the north.

But, as we get into next week,

it looks like the position of the jet stream will change,

orientating as more of a westerly, so it'll be more unsettled,

particularly in the north of the UK,

where we are closest to an area of low pressure.

Further south, high pressure may build in and settle things down.

Where will the dividing line be between the wetter

weather in the north and the brighter weather in the south?

It's going to be somewhere across the heart of the UK.

So, as we look towards early May, with those westerly winds

developing, certainly a lot less chilly than it is right now.

Temperatures might still be below average, but less chilly than now.

Some rain at times, mainly in the north,

driest in the south, and round about eight,

nine days from now the overnight frosts look less and less likely.