0:00:02 > 0:00:04Hello. I can't see the weather having too much of an impact
0:00:04 > 0:00:07on your travel plans to your Christmas break,
0:00:07 > 0:00:12but on the way back after Christmas it may be a different story.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14For the time being things are pretty quiet out there
0:00:14 > 0:00:17because the jet stream, the winds high up in the atmosphere,
0:00:17 > 0:00:19driving weather systems around the world,
0:00:19 > 0:00:22is well up to the north. That means the active weather
0:00:22 > 0:00:25is well up to the north and what we have at the moment
0:00:25 > 0:00:28is an area of high pressure dominating the scene.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32However, it is not a nice, clean, sunny high. We've got this
0:00:32 > 0:00:35weather front slung across the middle of it, which is
0:00:35 > 0:00:39essentially polluting the high, bringing a lot of cloud,
0:00:39 > 0:00:42mist and murk, some hill fog and during Thursday a band
0:00:42 > 0:00:45of patchy rain northwards across Northern Ireland
0:00:45 > 0:00:48and into northern England. Best chance of any
0:00:48 > 0:00:50brightness across northern and eastern parts of Scotland,
0:00:50 > 0:00:53here on the chilly side but very mild down to the south,
0:00:53 > 0:00:5511 or 12 degrees.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58During Thursday night, remember that frontal system will
0:00:58 > 0:01:00continue to wriggle its way around, bringing some outbreaks
0:01:00 > 0:01:03of rain, perhaps some heavier rain for a time across the
0:01:03 > 0:01:06south-west into the early part of Friday.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08A very mild night once again for most of us but perhaps
0:01:08 > 0:01:11a touch of frost across the north of Scotland
0:01:11 > 0:01:13but we'll keep hold of clear skies.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16Into Friday this frontal system still with us, but the
0:01:16 > 0:01:19high pressure all the while will be squeezing it out of the
0:01:19 > 0:01:23picture, so after a very cloudy and in places damp start,
0:01:23 > 0:01:25particularly in the south, again with some mist and murk,
0:01:25 > 0:01:28there is a slightly better chance through the day of
0:01:28 > 0:01:31seeing some brightness, particularly across eastern Scotland
0:01:31 > 0:01:33and down the eastern side of England.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36Again, quite chilly up to the north-east, 5 degrees
0:01:36 > 0:01:39in Aberdeen but 12 there in Cardiff. Now, Saturday
0:01:39 > 0:01:42should be a milder day in Aberdeen because we'll start to
0:01:42 > 0:01:45pick up more of a south-westerly wind, a stronger wind,
0:01:45 > 0:01:48so if that breaks up the cloud across eastern Scotland
0:01:48 > 0:01:50we could get to 14 degrees, but equally we'll start
0:01:50 > 0:01:53to see some rain into north-west Scotland courtesy of
0:01:53 > 0:01:56this next frontal system. Now, this one is going to be a part of
0:01:56 > 0:01:59the weather story, really, right through into Christmas.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02On Christmas Eve it will continue to bring outbreaks of rain
0:02:02 > 0:02:05across north-western parts of the British isles, the rain
0:02:05 > 0:02:08just wriggling around in the same sorts of places,
0:02:08 > 0:02:11and to the south it'll be quite windy, less in the way
0:02:11 > 0:02:14of fog and less in the way of low cloud because the winds
0:02:14 > 0:02:16will be that bit stronger. And for the big day itself,
0:02:16 > 0:02:19still rain into the north-west, still fairly windy
0:02:19 > 0:02:22but largely dry to the south, little bit of brightness
0:02:22 > 0:02:24in eastern areas. Notice, though, temperatures beginning
0:02:24 > 0:02:28to dip away in the north. As we move out of Christmas Day
0:02:28 > 0:02:30there is some uncertainty about the timing of this
0:02:30 > 0:02:33but it looks like we're going to bring this area of wet weather
0:02:33 > 0:02:35southwards and eastwards and as it moves southwards
0:02:35 > 0:02:38and eastwards it'll start to introduce some colder air.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41In fact, some places in the north could even see a little bit of snow
0:02:41 > 0:02:43for the end of Christmas Day.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46But it's cold air on the other side of the Atlantic that's going
0:02:46 > 0:02:49to drive our weather. Beyond Christmas we're expecting a real
0:02:49 > 0:02:51plunge of cold across North America,
0:02:51 > 0:02:55bumping into some very mild air being drawn up from the tropics.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58In fact, very warm air, and that clash of air masses
0:02:58 > 0:03:00is going to supercharge the jet stream.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03It'll strengthen the winds high up in the atmosphere,
0:03:03 > 0:03:06it will also bring the jet stream further south,
0:03:06 > 0:03:10so not only will areas of low pressure drift towards our shores,
0:03:10 > 0:03:13some of these areas of low pressure, because of the powerful jet,
0:03:13 > 0:03:16could be very deep indeed, perhaps even troublesome.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18So, as we move beyond Christmas,
0:03:18 > 0:03:22briefly it looks like turning colder and then deeper into the week
0:03:22 > 0:03:26some heavy rain at times, the risk of gales, so there could be some
0:03:26 > 0:03:29disruption for your travel plans after Christmas.