23/08/2016 Weather for the Week Ahead

The weather looks interesting as we go towards the bank holiday weekend,

bank holiday for most of us, that is, but even before we get

there, there's going to be some fun and games in the atmosphere.

We've got big contrasts right now across the UK -

a weather front bringing cloud and rain

across Scotland and Northern Ireland

during much of Tuesday.

For England and Wales,

a grey, misty, murky start,

but then the sun gets to work

and the temperatures really shoot up.

Where there's the cloud and the rain further north,

it's going to be a cool day,

but for England and Wales

and the sunshine in the afternoon,

widely into the mid-20s and 30 Celsius is possible

in and around London.

Now, we'll keep the clear skies through Tuesday night

across the southern half of the UK.

That weather front gets going

across southern and eastern Scotland.

The potential for some big thunderstorms

on that weather front

still marking the boundary between the warm air

and the fresher air, so a comfortable night

behind that weather front,

but ahead of it across eastern and southern England,

really warm and humid on Tuesday night.

It may not drop in some towns and cities

below 20 Celsius.

So it's a warm start to Wednesday

and potentially with that weather front

still in the far north-east, a wet start,

but the rain edges away from Shetland.

Bar a few scattered showers in Western Scotland,

Wednesday's a dry day.

A much brighter day for Scotland

and in Northern Ireland,

but still a hot one across East Anglia

and the south-east.

We're drawing in the hotter air still from the Continent

and this weather front is still wriggling around.

It looks like it's heading away,

but then we get a little ripple on it on Wednesday night

and Thursday and combined with some moisture,

heat and moisture means things go bang

through the summer months.

That means thunderstorms potentially developing

on Wednesday night and through Thursday.

It's difficult to say exactly where,

but some places could get torrents of rain.

A risk that these thunderstorms are quite vicious,

potentially over the Midlands and northern England,

but they could be a little further east or west.

That is something we'll keep an eye on.

That weather front still bringing the boundaries,

the warm air hanging on across the south-east

although potentially not as warm.

Elsewhere, we're in the high teens or low 20s.

Now, that weather front still around on Thursday evening,

potentially bringing some downpours,

but, finally, we say goodbye to it on Friday.

High pressure toppling in behind for most of us

and with the cold front moving through,

it will be much fresher across East Anglia

and the south-east.

Quite breezy across the north-west,

we could see a few showers here,

but, for most, Friday is a pretty pleasant day.

High teens or low 20s and, as I say,

you'll notice that cooler feel across the south-east.

Will the high last for the weekend?

Well, it's never that straightforward, is it?

Low pressure is edging slowly towards the UK

as we go towards Saturday.

Now, it is edging slowly and the main reason for that is,

well, let's look high up in the atmosphere

at the jet stream.

It's in one of its more wiggly phases,

shall we say.

It's not particularly strong,

but when we get this pattern

with the jet stream,

it means everything tends to move quite slowly

and starting off with this area of low pressure

edging in from the Atlantic.

As it does so, it may well draw up some warmth

for the start of the weekend,

particularly across southern parts of the UK.

So that's how we start the weekend

and then, at some point,

the low pressure system will cross the UK.

Whether it's to the north,

whether it's to the south,

that is open to some doubt,

but behind it,

high pressure will at least for a time move in,

so the things we know about the weekend -

there's the potential for some warmth,

particularly early on.

There will be a spell of rain for all of us,

but exactly when and exactly where

we see the heaviest stuff,

we'll have to firm up on that.

It may then turn drier as we go into Monday

before things look like turning back

to more changeable conditions

as we go further into next week.

We'll continue to keep you updated.

CHEERING

30 years. We've come a long way, that's for sure.

Something's not right, Charlie.