07/12/2017 Weather for the Week Ahead

Hello. If you've written off this week's weather as grey and mild,

not worth paying much attention to,

then think again, because big changes are underway now.

So far this week, a lot of this,

and temperatures as high as this,

but give it 24 hours or so and, by Friday morning,

some of us will be waking up to scenes like this.

It may be 4 degrees on Friday.

It'll feel much colder in the Arctic air

back across the UK, and that's the big change -

turning much colder, and just about anywhere could see a snow shower

Thursday night into Friday morning.

Why? Storm Caroline,

this deep area of low pressure,

is the game-changer in this week's weather,

passing to the north of Scotland during Thursday,

closest to it stormy,

windy across the UK,

and as Caroline pulls away,

then the Arctic air surges south across the UK.

That process begins on Thursday,

behind this band of wet weather clearing south-east England,

and then sunnier skies,

then the showers that follow in will turn increasingly wintry

as the colder air moves in.

We could see blizzards

in Highland Scotland

as temperatures drop away.

So, by this stage of Thursday,

attention turning to snow and ice,

but until then it is very much wind.

The closest to Storm Caroline, northern Scotland,

with a Met Office amber "be prepared" warning,

gusts possible in excess of 80mph,

60 to 70 elsewhere in Scotland,

parts of Northern Ireland,

with a yellow "be aware" warning.

There will be travel disruption,

absolutely check before you head out.

Thursday night, the winds aren't as strong,

attention turning to snow and ice.

Snow showers possible anywhere,

particularly northern and western Scotland,

Northern Ireland, Wales, the Midlands,

even south-east England.

Some of us will wake up to a covering of snow

on Friday morning, icy in places too.

A lot of sunshine across eastern parts on Friday,

but sun or snow showers,

in the wind, still strong on Friday,

it'll feel like it's at or below freezing.

Quite a bitter-feeling day.

A quieter day on Saturday.

Still cold, windy, some wintry showers,

but then on Sunday, an Atlantic weather system,

with its moisture, coming into the cold air,

brings a risk of further snow in places.

Saturday is the quieter day of the weekend.

A few wintry showers in the west,

near North Sea coasts, where the wind is strongest,

so it'll feel coldest, but some sunshine too.

But by Sunday, here comes that frontal system.

Rain, sleet and snow, as it pulls into that colder air.

A lot of uncertainty about who will see the snow.

At the moment, it looks like North Wales, the Midlands,

northern England, but that could change.

There's certainly a risk of significant snow in places

so keep an eye on Sunday's forecast

for the updates.

At the start of next week,

that system is pulling away.

We're back into a chilly northerly flow,

but as the week goes on, there could be a repeat of Sunday's weather

with this weather system in the Atlantic again bringing moisture

into the cold air, which will be established across much of the UK,

just occasionally milder towards the south and south-west.

For next week's weather,

it looks like it will stay cold for most of us for much of the week,

often windy - winds from the north

or north-west - and the risk

of further snow, either in the form

of wintry showers or from those

Atlantic weather systems bringing in

perhaps some rain, but also some sleet and snow.

Don't be fooled by the quiet start

to the weather this week.

It is changing. Keep your eye on it

and don't get caught out.