28/12/2017 Weather for the Week Ahead

Hello. Thanks for joining me. The weather is going to be warming up

over the coming days as we head towards the New Year,

but in the short term, Thursday is still looking pretty cold.

And after the recent rain, sleet and snow that we've had

across some parts of the country, it is going to be

very icy first thing on Thursday morning,

and we still have cold air coming in from the north right now.

But there's mild air out there in the Atlantic,

ready to come our way in the next couple of days.

So Thursday morning starts off icy

across central and southern areas of the UK,

but a largely clear and sunny start to the day.

Might be some freezing fog across parts of Northern Ireland.

And then, really, it's just a cold and crisp Thursday afternoon,

with just the odd wintry shower there

across northern parts of Scotland.

Chilly, five degrees at best in London, and for most of us,

it'll be around two, three, four degrees,

those sorts of values.

Now, there is another spell of snow at least potentially on the way,

and it's going to happen Thursday night into Friday.

Now, watch what happens.

It turns very cold and frosty Thursday night,

another weather front moves off the Atlantic,

brings a spell of transient snow, so only lasting a certain time,

in Northern Ireland, Wales and Northern England.

Difficult to say whether it will settle in the towns and cities,

for example Leeds, Sheffield, Yorkshire,

possibly into southern Scotland, but across the hills,

almost certainly a covering on the way.

And then, eventually, the wind off the Atlantic

will tend to make things a little bit too warm

for the snow to last for any longer,

and it is going to turn to rain.

So mild air eventually starting to reach us

as we head into Friday

and certainly for the weekend.

The New Year weekend,

we've got this plume of very mild air heading our way.

So let's see what happens, then,

during the course of Saturday.

Weather fronts moving across the UK,

a daisy chain of weather fronts

waiting out there for us in the Atlantic.

It should be a blustery day, as well,

with low pressure moving through, so windy conditions,

at least for a time, but look at this.

That rush of Atlantic air sends those temperatures

possibly even into the low teens

across southern parts of the UK.

Still remaining cold for a time there across Scotland.

And broadly speaking, Sunday, so into New Year's Eve,

low pressure in charge of the weather across the whole

of the North Atlantic, sending a rush of winds in our direction.

So blustery in places, and those temperatures still around 12,

maybe 13 in the south,

a little colder in Scotland

at around about five to seven degrees there in Glasgow.

And then, New Year's Eve itself,

as we head towards midnight,

it looks like we're in between two areas of low pressure,

so it just might be the case

that we'll have a window of opportunity,

a window of clearer weather just in time for the fireworks,

but showers never too far away.

So the best guess at the moment,

lots of clear spells around,

with a chilly wind,

but be prepared for passing showers

at the stroke of midnight or leading up to it.

And then, New Year's Day itself,

one low pressure crossing the country,

more weather fronts heading in our direction,

more low pressures way out there,

so we're starting to enter a very turbulent period

as we head into early 2018.

New Year's Day itself, some sunshine, showers,

brisk winds as well.

And then the jet stream,

a powerful one in early January.

You can see a low pressure here.

That indicates unsettled weather, and basically,

that translates to spells of wind and rain,

the possibility of gales, as well.

And we could get shots of colder air from the north,

which would bring a bit of snow to northern hills.

So a real mixed bag on the way.