02/01/2017 Weather for the Week Ahead

Hello there, and a very happy New Year to you.

As we start 2017, let's just take a quick look back

at how we ended 2016.

The month of December was quite a mild month

but also, unusually, quite a dry month, too.

The driest conditions were to be found across the south-east

of England, whereas towards the north-west of Scotland, rainfall

amounts here were reasonably typical of the time of year.

But the dry theme was down to a big area of high pressure that

was often in charge of our weather.

We've still got high pressure with us as we start 2017.

This is how Monday is shaping up.

Northerly winds rotating around that area of high pressure in

the North Atlantic, which means we have a fairly chilly air mass.

So the wind's coming from a north or north-westerly direction

bringing some showers to Northern Scotland and Eastern England, too.

They will be falling as sleet and snow over the higher ground,

rain at lower levels, but for the most part it's dry, bright, crisp

winter sunshine and temperatures around 3-6 degrees,

so significantly cooler than we saw certainly over the festive period.

Heading through the course of Monday night you can see the blue hue

returning to the map.

It is going to be a particularly cold night on into the early hours

of Tuesday through central and southern parts of the country.

In rural spots, we could see -5 degrees or so,

but things will turn a little bit milder.

From the north-west, increasing amounts of cloud pushing in

from the Atlantic.

High pressure still with us as we head through the day

on Tuesday but you'll notice these weather fronts just out

towards the north and north-east, so quite a windy spell of weather,

particularly for the Northern Isles and northern mainland parts

of Scotland with a bit of rain and drizzle over the hills

and around the coast towards the north-west of the country.

Further south and east, that's your best bet of staying dry

with some spells of wintry sunshine, and highs,

by the time we get to Tuesday, at around 5-8 degrees,

so still on the chilly side.

And then as we work through the course of Tuesday night

on into Wednesday, you can see those northerly winds once again

extending a bit further south across the country.

Slightly milder air out towards the south-west.

That's how it looks as we head through Wednesday.

High pressure sitting out towards the west of us in the

Atlantic there, low pressure out in the east.

So we've still got this northerly airflow with us, and again,

that could bring a few scattered showers around exposed

coastal areas, particularly towards the north and east.

Inland, most places look bright and dry after some frost,

potentially some fog to start off with, too.

But as we head through Wednesday night,

it's looking like yet another cold one.

So once again, quite a widespread frost, I think,

as we move through into the early hours of Thursday morning.

And there could also be some mist and fog to contend with as well,

so be prepared for some reduced visibility as we head through

the middle of the week. Temperatures around 4-6 degrees, most of us.

Quite a chilly day through the course of Thursday.

But we will start to draw in more of a westerly influence to our

weather as we look towards the end of the week,

so this is Friday, and you'll notice that weather front in the north-west

pushing its way south-eastwards across the country.

It'll tend to fizzle out, so nothing too disruptive

in terms of the weather, but we will see a spell of rain

and breezy conditions moving slowly south-eastwards.

And it'll be a little bit milder, too, so many of us back into

double figures by the time we get to Friday.

It's only a fairly short-lived milder spell because looking ahead

now into next weekend, after the rain, we're seeing high pressure

building in once again and a return to those northerly winds.

Some uncertainty about the exact direction of these winds.

Could be a bit further north-west, perhaps a bit further north-east.

So we could see some showers around but many places dry and frosty -

scenes like the one behind me.

So frost and potentially fog, and then on into the early part of

next week it's looking cloudier,

not quite as chilly, with the driest of the weather towards the south.

I'll update you again tomorrow. Bye-bye.

Join Alexander Armstrong

as he explores Naples, Venice and Florence.

It's like we're walking through a giant's armpit.