16/02/2017 Weather for the Week Ahead

On the last Weather For The Week Ahead

we talked about how dry this winter has been so far.

A huge difference from recent wash-out winters

across many parts of the UK.

Well, here's another difference for you -

I want to take you back to a cold, frosty morning in January

in Cholsey in Oxfordshire.

And if you've noticed more frost than recent winters across

southern parts of the UK, you'd be spot on.

Benson, also in Oxfordshire and often the coldest spot in England,

on 33 locations there was a frost in December and January

compared with an average of 21.

But take Braemar,

often the coldest place in Scotland, in Aberdeenshire -

a frost on 31 occasions compared with an average of 36.

So, below average, well above average.

This winter has certainly thrown up a few surprises.

But now we're putting hard frost behind us

and our temperatures are edging up.

14 Celsius in Lincolnshire on Wednesday and judging by your

weather watcher pictures, you're in a spring mood.

You're spending less time looking up at the sky and more looking

down at the ground and what's beginning to come up.

Even if it's not in bloom, something green is poking through.

And in south-west England, where they grow daffodils in fields,

well, everything looks in good shape, judging by this picture.

And the mild theme will continue, nothing to dent the spring growth.

Average daytime high for the time of year around 8 Celsius,

but we're going to beat that for many of us over the next few days

into the weekend, and in fact at the start of next week

it could be very mild.

And it's all to do with where the air is coming from.

At the weekend, cold, continental feed. Well, look at the isobars,

follow the air coming up from the south and south-west,

wafting milder air our way.

There are weather systems, though, coming through on the jet stream,

one of those on Thursday.

It's close to northern Scotland, so windy here,

some outbreaks of rain in the north and west of Scotland,

easing on Thursday afternoon. Rain coming into Northern Ireland,

much of England and Wales dry bar the odd shower,

some fog patches in the south slowly clearing.

Ah, double-figure temperatures.

Fog could be a problem again first thing on Friday morning,

slowly clearing.

The best of the sunny spells in the south and east,

western areas tending to cloud over in the afternoon,

some outbreaks of rain edging in.

That's as this weather system gets closer,

and this is where it will be at the start of the weekend.

And it will gradually push its way south-eastwards.

Doesn't have a huge amount of rain left on it,

but parts of Northern Ireland, Scotland,

northern England, north Wales will have some of that on Saturday,

but weakening considerably once it pushes its way south-eastwards

Saturday night and into Sunday morning.

So, for part two of the weekend on Sunday,

could be a bit damp and drizzly on some western coasts and hills.

East is best for sunshine.

But we're certainly in a mild flow of air, just some wetter,

windier weather approaching western Scotland late in the day.

And then the potential for that very mild air for some of us into

the start of next week where temperatures,

dependent on sunshine, could well for a time reach into the mid teens.

And the jet stream continues to feed that mild air towards us,

and a few weather systems closer to the core of the jet stream -

the northern half of the UK probably seeing most of the wet

and windy weather as it occasionally comes through.

Not much left on these weather systems

once they feed further south.

And there will be gaps in between the weather systems

with dry, bright interludes. So, next week,

it looks like this weather pattern continues for the rest of the month.

Occasionally you get some cloudier, wetter, windier days,

but then in the gaps you get to see a bit of sunshine,

better weather for getting out and about.

But in the gaps you may just get a touch of frost overnight,

but nothing severe, and daytime temperatures still trending at or

above average for the time of year, which means more signs of spring.