26/07/2016 Weather for the Week Ahead

Hello, there.

Well, reaching the end of July. All the schools have broken up,

the holiday season is getting into full swing

and there's plenty of rain in the forecast.

Business as usual.

Last week's heat is a fading memory.

It's been shoved out of the way

by quite an active westerly jet stream.

And this jet stream delivering these areas of blue.

The blobs of blue indicating some spells of wet weather

for just about all of us, actually, over the next few days.

So, to sum up,

we won't see the heat of last week through the next few days.

We'll see some sunshine, we'll see some rain as well.

Quite a mixture.

Now, not much rain around first thing on Tuesday.

There'll be plenty of dry and bright weather -

the best of that across the more eastern areas.

Already some showers further west

and, for some of us, these will become more widespread

as we go into the second half of the day.

But, for others, the sunshine will hold on.

For example across parts of eastern Scotland,

maybe north-east England.

There'll be some showers further west.

Not too bad across Scotland and Northern Ireland, though,

for the bulk of the day.

I mentioned some sunshine for north-east England

but elsewhere, a fair bit of cloud.

Increasing amounts of cloud, actually, through the afternoon.

Still some brightness holding on

across East Anglia and the south east.

Up into the low 20s, here.

A disappointing end to the day further west,

across Wales and south-east England,

with some showers around.

Now, gardeners, take note.

Some places haven't seen much rain for quite a few weeks

but overnight we'll see a bit of a splash

moving from Northern Ireland through much of England and Wales.

The good news is that much of that will fall overnight,

though it will be a damp start to the day

across these more southern and eastern areas

and the odd sharp shower left behind through the day.

Best of the brightness probably further north,

though there will be some showers across the far north of Scotland.

Now, next on the conveyor belt, this area of low pressure.

And that looks like zipping

right the way across the heart of the country.

That spells one thing.

It means some more wet weather, actually, on Thursday,

and some of that rain could be quite heavy.

Mind you, the far north of Scotland will probably avoid the rain,

hold on to some brightness. It will be cool, just 14 or 15.

It might turn a bit muggy for a time across some southern areas.

Generally, underneath the rain clouds, it will be cool.

Now, the rain, or most of it, will start to clear away on Friday.

We'll be left with some showers

and you'll notice the wind beginning to come down from the north west.

That's never a particularly warm direction.

It will knock the temperatures on their head, actually,

as we approach the weekend.

The low pressure moves out of the way

but we keep those north-westerly winds going.

Certainly, overnight,

temperatures will get well down into single figures.

But, by day, if you can get tucked out of the breeze

and in the sunshine, it shouldn't feel too bad at all,

particularly across the more southern and eastern areas.

Very nice indeed.

Further north and west, though,

you'll feel the effects of that breeze

and still some showers left behind.

Now, through this weekend,

as that low pressure eases out of the way

and the high pressure starts to push in from the south west,

we will start to lose those cool, north-westerly winds.

The weather settling down, but for how long?

Well, most computer models indicate that it won't be for all that long

as low pressure approaches from the north west.

We'll see winds coming in off the Atlantic

with most of the rain closest to that low pressure

across the north west.

However, it won't take much of a shift in the wind direction

to usher in some much, much warmer air from the south.

If you think back to last week,

a lot can change with a subtle shift in wind direction.

So watch this space.

It's a small chance but a couple of computer models

are starting to pick up on that idea.

At the moment, it looks as if it will be wettest in the north west

and driest in the south east next week.

But that risk, or that chance, shall we say, of a shot of heat.

We'll be keeping a very close eye on that one

over the next few days. I'll update you again tomorrow.

The War On Waste is back and your help has made a big difference.

50,000 people are getting fed

who weren't getting fed before. Every week.

It's a victory for common sense! WOMAN LAUGHS

But now, Hugh's uncovered a recycling scandal...