0:00:00 > 0:00:02On the last Weather For The Week Ahead
0:00:02 > 0:00:04we talked about how dry this winter has been so far.
0:00:04 > 0:00:07A huge difference from recent wash-out winters
0:00:07 > 0:00:09across many parts of the UK.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11Well, here's another difference for you -
0:00:11 > 0:00:14I want to take you back to a cold, frosty morning in January
0:00:14 > 0:00:16in Cholsey in Oxfordshire.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19And if you've noticed more frost than recent winters across
0:00:19 > 0:00:22southern parts of the UK, you'd be spot on.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25Benson, also in Oxfordshire and often the coldest spot in England,
0:00:25 > 0:00:28on 33 locations there was a frost in December and January
0:00:28 > 0:00:31compared with an average of 21.
0:00:31 > 0:00:32But take Braemar,
0:00:32 > 0:00:36often the coldest place in Scotland, in Aberdeenshire -
0:00:36 > 0:00:39a frost on 31 occasions compared with an average of 36.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42So, below average, well above average.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46This winter has certainly thrown up a few surprises.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48But now we're putting hard frost behind us
0:00:48 > 0:00:51and our temperatures are edging up.
0:00:51 > 0:00:5414 Celsius in Lincolnshire on Wednesday and judging by your
0:00:54 > 0:00:57weather watcher pictures, you're in a spring mood.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00You're spending less time looking up at the sky and more looking
0:01:00 > 0:01:03down at the ground and what's beginning to come up.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06Even if it's not in bloom, something green is poking through.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09And in south-west England, where they grow daffodils in fields,
0:01:09 > 0:01:13well, everything looks in good shape, judging by this picture.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17And the mild theme will continue, nothing to dent the spring growth.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20Average daytime high for the time of year around 8 Celsius,
0:01:20 > 0:01:23but we're going to beat that for many of us over the next few days
0:01:23 > 0:01:26into the weekend, and in fact at the start of next week
0:01:26 > 0:01:27it could be very mild.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29And it's all to do with where the air is coming from.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33At the weekend, cold, continental feed. Well, look at the isobars,
0:01:33 > 0:01:35follow the air coming up from the south and south-west,
0:01:35 > 0:01:37wafting milder air our way.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40There are weather systems, though, coming through on the jet stream,
0:01:40 > 0:01:41one of those on Thursday.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44It's close to northern Scotland, so windy here,
0:01:44 > 0:01:46some outbreaks of rain in the north and west of Scotland,
0:01:46 > 0:01:50easing on Thursday afternoon. Rain coming into Northern Ireland,
0:01:50 > 0:01:53much of England and Wales dry bar the odd shower,
0:01:53 > 0:01:55some fog patches in the south slowly clearing.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57Ah, double-figure temperatures.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59Fog could be a problem again first thing on Friday morning,
0:01:59 > 0:02:01slowly clearing.
0:02:01 > 0:02:02The best of the sunny spells in the south and east,
0:02:02 > 0:02:05western areas tending to cloud over in the afternoon,
0:02:05 > 0:02:07some outbreaks of rain edging in.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09That's as this weather system gets closer,
0:02:09 > 0:02:11and this is where it will be at the start of the weekend.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14And it will gradually push its way south-eastwards.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16Doesn't have a huge amount of rain left on it,
0:02:16 > 0:02:18but parts of Northern Ireland, Scotland,
0:02:18 > 0:02:21northern England, north Wales will have some of that on Saturday,
0:02:21 > 0:02:24but weakening considerably once it pushes its way south-eastwards
0:02:24 > 0:02:26Saturday night and into Sunday morning.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28So, for part two of the weekend on Sunday,
0:02:28 > 0:02:31could be a bit damp and drizzly on some western coasts and hills.
0:02:31 > 0:02:32East is best for sunshine.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35But we're certainly in a mild flow of air, just some wetter,
0:02:35 > 0:02:39windier weather approaching western Scotland late in the day.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42And then the potential for that very mild air for some of us into
0:02:42 > 0:02:44the start of next week where temperatures,
0:02:44 > 0:02:48dependent on sunshine, could well for a time reach into the mid teens.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51And the jet stream continues to feed that mild air towards us,
0:02:51 > 0:02:54and a few weather systems closer to the core of the jet stream -
0:02:54 > 0:02:56the northern half of the UK probably seeing most of the wet
0:02:56 > 0:02:59and windy weather as it occasionally comes through.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01Not much left on these weather systems
0:03:01 > 0:03:02once they feed further south.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05And there will be gaps in between the weather systems
0:03:05 > 0:03:07with dry, bright interludes. So, next week,
0:03:07 > 0:03:10it looks like this weather pattern continues for the rest of the month.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13Occasionally you get some cloudier, wetter, windier days,
0:03:13 > 0:03:16but then in the gaps you get to see a bit of sunshine,
0:03:16 > 0:03:17better weather for getting out and about.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20But in the gaps you may just get a touch of frost overnight,
0:03:20 > 0:03:24but nothing severe, and daytime temperatures still trending at or
0:03:24 > 0:03:28above average for the time of year, which means more signs of spring.