0:00:03 > 0:00:05Hello there. There is change on the way, but so far,
0:00:05 > 0:00:07the New Year has brought the same old weather,
0:00:07 > 0:00:10following on from what has been an historic December.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13The stats are all in now, let's have a quick look back.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15Four degrees is the average temperature for
0:00:15 > 0:00:17your typical December,
0:00:17 > 0:00:19the December just gone we smashed that record.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22Eight degrees as an average across the UK.
0:00:22 > 0:00:23What about rainfall?
0:00:23 > 0:00:25It was the wettest on record.
0:00:25 > 0:00:26That rain starkly concentrated across
0:00:26 > 0:00:29the more northern and western parts of the UK,
0:00:29 > 0:00:31which is where most of the flooding has been.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33All supercharged by a strong jet stream,
0:00:33 > 0:00:35and it does look as though that jet stream
0:00:35 > 0:00:36is going to pep up again
0:00:36 > 0:00:37over the next 24 hours and bring us
0:00:37 > 0:00:38another dose of wet weather
0:00:38 > 0:00:40across the whole of the country.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42But let's fast-forward to next week,
0:00:42 > 0:00:43what a difference.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45A fundamental change in the track
0:00:45 > 0:00:46of the jet stream, and that will
0:00:46 > 0:00:48bring a significant change to our weather,
0:00:48 > 0:00:49as we will see in a moment.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52Back to Wednesday though, and still some damp,
0:00:52 > 0:00:53dreary weather across parts of
0:00:53 > 0:00:55north-east England and eastern Scotland,
0:00:55 > 0:00:56where we have had so much
0:00:56 > 0:00:58rain over the last day or so.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00Not the persistent stuff, but still some showers.
0:01:00 > 0:01:01More wet weather getting
0:01:01 > 0:01:03into the far west of Cornwall,
0:01:03 > 0:01:04but in between some dry weather,
0:01:04 > 0:01:06albeit quite cloudy,
0:01:06 > 0:01:09quite murky, limited sunshine out there.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12If we go through Friday evening and night,
0:01:12 > 0:01:13the rain out west will begin
0:01:13 > 0:01:14to sweep its way north-east
0:01:14 > 0:01:16to us, we are all going to
0:01:16 > 0:01:17see some pretty wet weather,
0:01:17 > 0:01:19unwelcome wet weather, of course.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21And unfortunately, it is going to
0:01:21 > 0:01:22get hooked up across parts
0:01:22 > 0:01:23of Scotland well on into Thursday,
0:01:23 > 0:01:25so more prolonged rain here,
0:01:25 > 0:01:26watch out for warnings.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28Quite a lot of snow over high ground as well.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30Following on for the rest of us,
0:01:30 > 0:01:32an improving picture, some sunshine,
0:01:32 > 0:01:33although there will be some
0:01:33 > 0:01:34showers rattling in on the breeze.
0:01:34 > 0:01:35Chilly in the north,
0:01:35 > 0:01:37a little bit milder in the south.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39Now, that front lingers into Friday
0:01:39 > 0:01:41across the far north, a bit of uncertainty
0:01:41 > 0:01:43about its exact position but the
0:01:43 > 0:01:45possibility of further persistent rain here,
0:01:45 > 0:01:48with little fronts coming in from the west.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50So a mixture of sunshine and showers
0:01:50 > 0:01:53for most, the sunshine not feeling too bad,
0:01:53 > 0:01:55the showers could be quite heavy again.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57Quite chilly in the north, so some
0:01:57 > 0:01:59snow over the mountains of Scotland.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01As we hit the weekend, well,
0:02:01 > 0:02:02more persistent rain quite possibly
0:02:02 > 0:02:04coming up from the south-west,
0:02:04 > 0:02:05so that could renew
0:02:05 > 0:02:08the flooding risk, especially as it stalls
0:02:08 > 0:02:11across northern parts of the country,
0:02:11 > 0:02:12and again some mountain snow.
0:02:12 > 0:02:13But it is a familiar picture,
0:02:13 > 0:02:15as we have seen for so long.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17Low-pressure dominating the scene across the UK,
0:02:17 > 0:02:19and the eastern Atlantic
0:02:19 > 0:02:21providing those rain clouds.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23But if you were watching yesterday,
0:02:23 > 0:02:25we took a further step back
0:02:25 > 0:02:26and looked at the North Pole,
0:02:26 > 0:02:27where actually, we've got
0:02:27 > 0:02:29some unusually high pressure
0:02:29 > 0:02:31building at the moment,
0:02:31 > 0:02:32And the high-pressure serves to
0:02:32 > 0:02:34kind of squeeze out
0:02:34 > 0:02:35cold air in various directions,
0:02:35 > 0:02:37and cold, dense air acts
0:02:37 > 0:02:38a little bit like treacle,
0:02:38 > 0:02:39we get a lobe of it,
0:02:39 > 0:02:42which has brought a cold snap to the continent recently,
0:02:42 > 0:02:44we've got a cold plunge across North America right now,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47and it does look as we get into next week, we're going to
0:02:47 > 0:02:52start to see some cold air pushing down towards the UK for a change.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56How quickly that happens is still open to some question,
0:02:56 > 0:02:58but what it will do is send that jet stream much
0:02:58 > 0:03:00further south than we have had for a long time.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02That is good news in some respects,
0:03:02 > 0:03:04because it's along the jet stream
0:03:04 > 0:03:05you get most of
0:03:05 > 0:03:06the rain-bearing weather fronts,
0:03:06 > 0:03:08and we'll be well clear of the jet then,
0:03:08 > 0:03:10so the prospect of it turning drier.
0:03:10 > 0:03:11Drier but colder.
0:03:11 > 0:03:12So yes, a bit of a shock
0:03:12 > 0:03:14to the system for some of us,
0:03:14 > 0:03:16notably colder next week.
0:03:16 > 0:03:17There will be widespread frost,
0:03:17 > 0:03:19maybe a little bit of the white stuff,
0:03:19 > 0:03:21but perhaps most importantly,
0:03:21 > 0:03:23it does look like being
0:03:23 > 0:03:24a lot drier than recently.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27How long it lasts is another matter,
0:03:27 > 0:03:28tune in again tomorrow
0:03:28 > 0:03:29and I will give you another update.