02/03/2018 Weather for the Week Ahead

Hello. This is the time when we take a look at the forecast

for the next ten days.

And we will do that,

but I want to focus first of all on the next few hours.

We've had this Met Office red warning in force across parts

of south-west England, south-east Wales.

That expiring through the early hours of Friday morning.

Still an amber warning in force,

though, across parts of the south-west, also parts

of Northern Ireland, north-east England,

northern and eastern Scotland.

Those Met Office warnings show where we are most likely to see

the disruptive snowfall through the first part of Friday.

Northern and eastern Scotland seeing the snow showers continuing

and after a slightly quieter period, it looks like snow will

return across southern areas later in the day.

A lot of uncertainty about just how far north that snow will get.

Another cold day, though, particularly

when you factor in the strength of a biting easterly wind.

The vast majority of places

will feel sub-zero.

But this snow could well be quite troublesome for Friday's rush hour.

As I mentioned, though, uncertainty about how far north it will get

and how much snow it will bring to

places like Birmingham, London, Cardiff, Bristol.

But it does look like that weather system will limp its way

further north as we move out of Friday into Saturday.

The snow on it tending to weaken.

With low pressure still in charge down to the south-west,

we're going to see a southerly wind attempting to bring us

something a little bit less cold.

I hesitate to use the world milder because I think it is

still going to feel decidedly chilly through this weekend.

But particularly down towards the south, a bit less cold than

it has been and there is still the risk, in some places, of some snow.

So let's take it day by day.

This is Saturday.

Remember that weather system limping northwards.

It doesn't look like much at this stage, just some very patchy snow

drifting across northern England, Northern Ireland, southern Scotland.

Still snow showers into the north-east,

a mix of rain and sleet and snow into the south-west.

Still chilly, yes, but not quite as cold as it has been

and that is a trend that continues into Sunday.

It looks like we could see an area of patchy snow drifting northwards.

A lot of uncertainty about the positioning of that.

Still some snow showers into eastern Scotland and, again,

we nudge those temperatures up by another degree or two.

2 to 8 degrees at best.

Now, as we move out of Sunday into Monday,

low pressure still in charge of the scene,

but not too many white lines,

not too many isobars on the chart.

That means relatively light winds.

But with those light winds,

it is going to be a bit of a forecasting headache to work out

exactly where the weather systems will move.

We are likely to have some patchy snow

drifting its way across some northern areas,

but down to the south,

the temperatures up to 7, 8, 9 degrees.

Still below average, though, for the time of year.

For Tuesday, a lot of dry weather around, some spells of sunshine.

Any showers that fall at low levels

most lightly to be rain and sleet

at this stage with these slightly higher temperatures,

but still the potential for some snow over high ground,

particularly in the north.

Later next week,

the jet stream remains well away to the south of the UK.

That leaves us in the cold air

but as this dip in the jet stream approaches from the west,

it is likely to spin up an area of low pressure.

Now, exactly where this low ends up

will be crucial in determining

the temperatures for the end of next week.

If it moves its way northwards, it will allow us

to bring some milder air in our directions but

if it slides away to the south, we are likely to be left in the cold.

So still a lot to play for as far

as the temperatures go next week.