0:00:02 > 0:00:03And so we say goodbye to January.
0:00:03 > 0:00:06The days are getting longer, the sun is getting stronger,
0:00:06 > 0:00:09but make no mistake, winter is far from over.
0:00:09 > 0:00:10Much colder air moved back
0:00:10 > 0:00:12across the UK during Wednesday.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14For some of us the return of snow showers.
0:00:14 > 0:00:15Some heavy ones around, too.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17But with cold air you also get
0:00:17 > 0:00:19sparkling sunshine occasionally too.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21That was the case on Wednesday
0:00:21 > 0:00:23and will also be the case over the next few days.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25But the cold air is here
0:00:25 > 0:00:27and it's here for the foreseeable.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29Occasionally we might get attempts
0:00:29 > 0:00:31at milder air coming in from the Atlantic.
0:00:31 > 0:00:32One at the weekend does not succeed,
0:00:32 > 0:00:35and a bigger area of mild air into the start
0:00:35 > 0:00:37of next week tries to come in, but look how the life
0:00:37 > 0:00:40is squeezed out of this too as the cold air wins.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43This milder air represents weather systems from the Atlantic
0:00:43 > 0:00:45coming in, and because the cold air wins,
0:00:45 > 0:00:48the moisture from these weather systems may fall
0:00:48 > 0:00:50increasingly as snow, as we'll see.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52Let's get to the day today
0:00:52 > 0:00:54and over the next few days, starting with
0:00:54 > 0:00:56Thursday's weather, and it's quite a strong
0:00:56 > 0:00:58north-westerly flow across the UK.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01So clearly that's a cold direction. An icy start.
0:01:01 > 0:01:02Further wintry showers in places,
0:01:02 > 0:01:04rain, sleet, snow, hail.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06Snow tending to be just at the higher ground, northern Scotland,
0:01:06 > 0:01:09Northern Ireland, Wales, the West Midlands into south-west England.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11Many other places will be dry
0:01:11 > 0:01:12with some of that sparkling sunshine
0:01:12 > 0:01:15and temperatures at around 4-7 Celsius.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18A frost on Friday morning, fewer showers.
0:01:18 > 0:01:20There'll be a few where the wind is strongest
0:01:20 > 0:01:22towards the North Sea coast, mainly of rain.
0:01:22 > 0:01:23A lighter wind elsewhere,
0:01:23 > 0:01:25some of that sunshine.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27In fact, a fine winter's day on Friday.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29But then remember that area of mild air trying
0:01:29 > 0:01:32to come in from the Atlantic with the weather system for the weekend?
0:01:32 > 0:01:34Well, here is the moisture from that, but remember,
0:01:34 > 0:01:37the cold air won, so as we see outbreaks of rain
0:01:37 > 0:01:39pushing east on Saturday into the cold air,
0:01:39 > 0:01:41a chance for sleet and snow in the hills of Scotland
0:01:41 > 0:01:42and northern England.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44Perhaps to lower levels in places.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47And then, as the moisture hangs around, across
0:01:47 > 0:01:49central and eastern parts on Saturday night and into Sunday,
0:01:49 > 0:01:52a chance of sleet and snow perhaps even to southern areas
0:01:52 > 0:01:55for a time out of this before it fizzles out during Sunday.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58To the west, after some heavy and wintry showers on Saturday,
0:01:58 > 0:02:00with a strong wind, increasingly dry
0:02:00 > 0:02:02and sunny weather on Sunday.
0:02:02 > 0:02:03Things quieten down a bit,
0:02:03 > 0:02:05but, of course, it is still cold
0:02:05 > 0:02:07because the cold air wins.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09Now, high pressure has built in
0:02:09 > 0:02:11for start of next week, for Monday,
0:02:11 > 0:02:14but then we see another one of those Atlantic weather systems.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16An attempt at milder air coming in that won't succeed,
0:02:16 > 0:02:19but the moisture from that feeding in late Monday,
0:02:19 > 0:02:22into Tuesday, and as it pushes its way southwards
0:02:22 > 0:02:24it could well produce some sleet and snow in places
0:02:24 > 0:02:26so that's certainly something to watch.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28And that is the weather pattern for next week,
0:02:28 > 0:02:30maybe beyond into the following week too.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32High pressure from the Azores,
0:02:32 > 0:02:34south-west of us, building towards UK.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36At times the flow of air around that
0:02:36 > 0:02:38means a chilly north-westerly wind
0:02:38 > 0:02:40with sunshine and a few wintry showers.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44Occasionally the high pressure will be pushed away south-westwards
0:02:44 > 0:02:47once again as we see low pressure from the Atlantic moving in.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49Remember, the mild air with these does not win.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51The cold air holds on in the UK
0:02:51 > 0:02:53so the moisture from these could produce sleet
0:02:53 > 0:02:56and snow in places, and then as they pull away,
0:02:56 > 0:02:58the high pressure builds back in again,
0:02:58 > 0:03:00things settle briefly and we're back into
0:03:00 > 0:03:01that chilly north-westerly flow
0:03:01 > 0:03:03with sunshine and wintry showers.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05So let's break that down.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07What can we expect next week, into the following weekend,
0:03:07 > 0:03:10even into the following week possibly?
0:03:10 > 0:03:11Cold air holding on.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13When high-pressure is close by,
0:03:13 > 0:03:15this is where you get the drier, sunnier weather,
0:03:15 > 0:03:16the sparkling sunshine,
0:03:16 > 0:03:18but a chance of wintry showers.
0:03:18 > 0:03:19When low pressure comes in
0:03:19 > 0:03:21it will be wetter briefly
0:03:21 > 0:03:24and a chance of sleet and snow just about anywhere.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26So we may be changing the month
0:03:26 > 0:03:27for the final month of winter,
0:03:27 > 0:03:30but there's a lot of life left in winter yet.