13/01/2017 Weather for the Week Ahead

It was a mild December but I'm sure we can all agree now that winter

has arrived with a vengeance.

From top to tail across the UK

we've had some snowfall over the last 24 hours or so.

This shot taken from Highlands, Scotland,

and across southeastern parts of England

the rain turned to snow during the course of Thursday,

a few centimetres up over the high ground as well.

But we need to put all this in perspective.

Cast your minds back 30 years -

some of us can remember -

blizzards raged across southern

and eastern parts of the UK

and temperatures by day

exactly 30 years ago

did not get above -8 Celsius

all day long.

So, let's put this little cold snap

into some perspective. The highs on Friday -

2-5 degrees, north to south.

There's no doubt about it, it does feel

chilly out there and it will be a chilly

and wintry day.

Through the early hours, a little band of snowfall

pushing out of Scotland and running all the way

down the eastern side of England.

A pretty narrow band but it could deposit

a couple of centimetres of snow.

More like rain or sleet on the coast.

We've got a gale blowing down the North Sea

with big waves.

That snow could arrive in the London area

just in time for the rush hour.

It doesn't last long, it clears out of the way,

the sun comes out and for most places

it'll be a bright but cold day on Friday.

That brisk wind will continue

and it'll continue to feed some

wintry showers into exposed areas.

But with some shelter -

for example, along the south cost,

shouldn't feel too bad

with temperatures 4 or 5 degrees.

It certainly will not feel very pleasant

along those North Sea coasts.

We're quite concerned about the possibility

of a storm surge,

with huge waves crashing onto the coastline,

coastal flooding a real possibility.

Further wintry showers across parts of

Northern Ireland and the more exposed

northern parts of Scotland.

But plenty of sunshine further south.

Cold, though, and after a widespread frost

on Saturday it'll be another chilly day.

Further wintry showers down the east coast,

the strongest of the winds beginning to moderate,

and the showers out west

will begin to turn back to rain or sleet.

Something a bit milder trying to encroach

off the Atlantic.

You can see the yellow's trying to push in.

How quickly the mild air gets across to the east

and removes that block of cold

is a big question mark.

I think for western areas it will turn milder

with some outbreaks of rain,

but for eastern-most parts

it could be a raw day on Sunday

as that cloud and patchy rain,

maybe a bit of sleet, turns up -

just 4 or 5 degrees here,

milder out west.

Even by Monday, the warm air

hasn't quite made it

across to eastern parts of England

and this warm front will grind to a halt,

so along that zone we'll have cloud

and patchy rain.

Probably drier on either side

but whereas out west it'll be mild,

double figures here,

still be chilly across eastern parts

of England. And then, if anything,

as we head through Tuesday into Wednesday,

things start to push back westwards again

as that cold block pushes the mild air

back into the Atlantic.

That's the case across England and Wales.

Northern Ireland and Scotland

will probably hold on to milder air.

It's all governed by the jet stream,

and the jet stream's

in a weird configuration,

a massive great loop,

this branch of it

pushing milder air into the northwest,

this branch pushing that cold

continental air into the south and east,

with a contrast in temperature

between the northwest and the southeast

in the course of next week.

That's it, I'll update you again tomorrow.