27/02/2018 Weather for the Week Ahead

It's here. One of the coldest, snowiest weeks in the UK

in years, we think,

and the weather really making us sit up and take notice.

The meteorology behind it as well, really unusual.

This is the jet stream, how we're starting this week.

We are used to it powering from west to east across the Atlantic

but, look, it is attacking us from the north-east to

the south-west, a cold direction

and something really unusual.

We don't get to see this very often at all.

Of course, it's the reason why it is so cold.

Of course, it is the reason

some of us are being hit by frequent

snow showers, particularly in

that north-easterly flow.

Going into Tuesday morning -

two amber warnings from the Met Office.

Be prepared parts of north-east England, Yorkshire,

the Midlands into East Anglia and south-east England,

up to 10 centimetres of snow.

The likelihood of some disruption.

Of course, you need to check the situation heading out

at any stage during Tuesday.

Though the showers towards south-east England fading

a bit into the afternoon.

We'll see a spell of snow working through part of the Pennines,

the Midlands, Wales, giving a few centimetres in some spots.

Northern Ireland, Western Scotland could well avoid the snow

showers for now and see sunny spells.

Of course, it is bitterly cold,

it feels colder in the wind.

Now on through Tuesday night and into Wednesday,

again the harder whites here

are the snow showers coming in

and notice how the core of the heavier ones starting to

shunt a little bit further north.

It is bitterly cold overnight,

again it feels colder in the wind.

There is a hard frost.

So Wednesday's big picture, instead of the showers powering at us

from the north-east, there's just a little tilt of the flow here

so they're starting, these heavier snow showers, to attack

parts of north-east England

and eastern and northern Scotland.

So this is where we have a

Met Office amber warning in force.

Be prepared Wednesday into Thursday.

Again, you could see 10 centimetres or perhaps more

in some spots and the likelihood of some disruption.

As I show you the picture for Wednesday,

again you can see these heavier

snow showers coming in on this

flow here which is

less north-easterly, more easterly.

Snow showers possible elsewhere.

We are watching an area that could

run in to parts of south-west

England dumping some heavy snow.

There will be some snow showers running into parts

of Northern Ireland too. There will be some sunny spells around.

These are your maximum temperatures.

When you factor in the wind,

of course, it is colder.

Colder still of the wind gets stronger

later in the week as we see an area of low pressure.

It's been named by the Portuguese weather service as Storm Emma

so you may hear that talked about,

but it is going to run moisture

northwards into the UK, into the very cold air we have across us.

And, of course, that is a recipe for snow.

It may not look exactly like this as

we go from Thursday into Friday

but I want to show you this to give you an idea.

You could well see some heavy snow

running in towards the south-west initially

with blizzards in strong winds.

Could be seriously disruptive.

Then on through Friday,

it all starts to move further north

across the rest of the UK.

So some particularly nasty,

disruptive snow towards the end of the week.

That is a possibility.

Keep in touch with the forecast.

Going through the weekend into next week, look at the jet stream,

it is now flowing west to east but it is well to the south of us.

We are still in the blues but we're not as cold as we've been because

we've lost the powerful jet stream coming in from the north-east.

What does that mean for our weather going into next week?

It will be less cold, initially across southern parts of the UK.

How quickly the less cold air goes north, that is open to question.

Unsettled with areas of low pressure,

still a risk of snow, particularly where the cold air

hangs on for longest across the northern half of the UK.

Of course we will keep you updated.

Right now though we are the grip of some very serious winter weather.