0:00:02 > 0:00:05The weather is about to turn pretty wild as we enter
0:00:05 > 0:00:08the stormiest period of the winter so far.
0:00:08 > 0:00:12It has been so quiet lately, but I think a bit of a shock on the way.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16Very strong winds, potentially, on the way and some heavy rain too.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18Maybe even a little bit of snow, but not an awful lot.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20Mostly across the hills.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23Let's have a look at the reason for this stormy weather.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26It is the jet stream roaring out of North America
0:00:26 > 0:00:28making a beeline for the UK.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31Underneath this jet stream what we get is
0:00:31 > 0:00:32areas of low pressure spin up.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35There is one low pressure here.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38This is around about Christmas Eve time.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41There is a bit of a lull and then this next one
0:00:41 > 0:00:43will be heading our way as well.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46It is too early to say exactly how big these lows will be,
0:00:46 > 0:00:47how strong the wind will be
0:00:47 > 0:00:49and where the worst of the weather will occur.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51Probably north-western areas,
0:00:51 > 0:00:53but that is still a little bit too far off.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56In the short term, this is what we have got Tuesday morning.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58Mild, damp, cloudy weather in the south.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00A touch of frost across these northern areas.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04The morning certainly nippy across Scotland and Northern Ireland.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06Temperatures in many areas around freezing,
0:01:06 > 0:01:08a little bit milder in the Western Isles.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10That is a hint of things to come.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13And then to the south of that across England and Wales,
0:01:13 > 0:01:14it is still pretty cloudy.
0:01:14 > 0:01:19The difference with Tuesday compared to Wednesday will be that
0:01:19 > 0:01:21on Tuesday we are going to see some of that cloud breaking up,
0:01:21 > 0:01:25so there will be some sunshine eventually coming through.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28The morning will be grey and drizzly but then things will improve
0:01:28 > 0:01:32a little bit. Look at the number of isobars here. That means no wind.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34Look at the number of isobars there.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38That is the screaming gale-force wind coming out of
0:01:38 > 0:01:41the Atlantic Ocean and it is going to be pushing the first
0:01:41 > 0:01:45weather front through during the course of Tuesday evening through
0:01:45 > 0:01:48Northern Ireland and Western Scotland and then by the time
0:01:48 > 0:01:50we get to the middle part of the week,
0:01:50 > 0:01:53these weather fronts well and truly rushing through the UK.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56Winds increasing pretty much everywhere, gales around
0:01:56 > 0:02:00these north-western coasts, perhaps further west and south too.
0:02:00 > 0:02:01But I think initially,
0:02:01 > 0:02:05the weather not too blustery across the far south here.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08I think it will still be probably cloudy and damp at times.
0:02:08 > 0:02:10A lot of sunshine around too, it is not all bad.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12There will be blustery cold showers around.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15I think by the time we get to Thursday, Friday and through
0:02:15 > 0:02:20the weekend, through Christmas that is when things turn interesting.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24Let's have a look at the scene across our part of the world
0:02:24 > 0:02:26as we enter Christmas Eve.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29Here is that nasty area of low pressure with very strong
0:02:29 > 0:02:31winds blowing around it.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33There are tonnes of isobars there.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35You can't really count them. They just go on and on.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38Here are the gale-force winds.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41The worst of the winds at this stage probably on Christmas Eve
0:02:41 > 0:02:44somewhere around the north, north-west of the country.
0:02:44 > 0:02:49Then a bit of a lull and then Christmas Day we'll see heavy rain
0:02:49 > 0:02:52sweeping across the country and another area of low pressure.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54This one could jog a little bit further south,
0:02:54 > 0:02:57it might be a little bit further north so the details are uncertain.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00But what is interesting is that between these areas of low
0:03:00 > 0:03:02pressure because the winds spin around like so,
0:03:02 > 0:03:06the back edges of the low pressure could see some cold air coming in.
0:03:06 > 0:03:11So we might even have some hill snow particularly across northern areas.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14So, yes, during the course of Christmas Day into Boxing Day
0:03:14 > 0:03:17and beyond there is a possibility of some wintry, sleety weather
0:03:17 > 0:03:19across northern areas of the UK.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22But be prepared for disruptive winds potentially and some heavy rain
0:03:22 > 0:03:25throughout this Christmas period.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29Well worth checking the forecast regularly. Thanks for watching.