06/12/2017 Weather for the Week Ahead

The UK's next named storm is on the way,

then it turns colder - snow showers, frost and ice.

That's just this week's weather!

And this forecast has to get through next week too. Better crack on.

I'll start with a view of Tuesday -

grey, mild, all pretty quiet now,

but that's about to change.

Looking to the Atlantic,

this big swirl of cloud,

Storm Caroline, on the way

to the UK. Looks like Scotland

will bear the brunt of the strongest winds on Thursday,

but the winds will pick up across the board, thanks to Storm Caroline,

then as it moves away, it'll turn much colder

and at the end of the week, some of us will be dealing with

snow showers, frosty and icy nights too.

First, Wednesday's weather,

and one last mild day.

The flow of air from the south, southwest,

plenty of cloud but some brighter breaks

for England, Wales and northeast Scotland.

Northern Ireland, elsewhere in Scotland

will see rain moving in

and temperatures top out at 10 to maybe 13, 14,

but by the end of Wednesday,

gales are developing

in western areas. There's Caroline,

passing to the north of Scotland,

and it is Scotland on Thursday that will see the strongest gusts,

maybe 80mph in the north,

but the risk of disruptive gusts elsewhere.

It will be windy across the UK with gales,

a band of rain sweeping southwards,

showers following to the northwest,

and as the colder air moves south across the UK,

this is what the temperatures will be at the end of the afternoon.

We're likely to see blizzards across parts of northern Scotland

going into Friday. By Friday, Caroline is out into Scandinavia,

but look at the flow of air from the Arctic,

isobars tight together,

so strong, cold winds surging south across the UK,

and for some of us, the day will start very wintery,

with snow showers affecting northern and western parts,

Northern Ireland, Wales and western England,

icy in places too. Elsewhere, quite a bit of sunshine.

Sunshine or snow showers, it's going to feel bitterly cold,

colder than the thermometer might suggest,

feeling closer to or below freezing on Friday,

into Saturday too, which starts frosty,

and the sleet and snow showers will be close to North Sea coasts,

where winds will be strongest,

and it'll feel coldest as a result.

Elsewhere, loads of sunshine,

but by Sunday - cold start, frosty start,

and we're going to bring an Atlantic weather system

into the UK, with the moisture, into that cold air.

There's a lot of uncertainty

about how quickly this will move across the UK,

but some of us are likely to see some snow

as it runs into the cold air,

and there's a risk of significant snow in places,

particularly across northern parts of the UK,

so for Sunday, this is very much a case of watch this space.

I think there'll be further

similar problems into next week,

because the weather pattern

stays the same. The jet stream

just lurking to the west of us,

but much of the UK will be on the

northern side of the jet stream.

What does that mean?

It means on the cold side,

so cold air in place for most of us,

milder flirtations at times

with the south and southwest,

and along the jet stream,

we're likely to see some further

weather systems from the Atlantic,

bringing moisture into cold air.

Where it's mild to the south

and southwest, maybe rain,

but elsewhere in the UK,

in the cold air, on the northern side of the jet stream,

a risk of snow. So, next week looking cold for most of us,

often windy

and a risk of further snow.

So next week is looking interesting.

That's after this week's rollercoaster ride of temperatures

and, of course, Storm Caroline.