21/03/2018 Weather for the Week Ahead

Hello. If the cold weather has not been your thing

well, the good news is we've lost that chilly easterly component

to our wind from the rest of this week.

Air is coming off the Atlantic,

which means milder weather for all compared to what we've been used to.

But, of course, coming off the Atlantic, we do see a bit more cloud

and there will be a bit of rain rather than snow at times.

At the moment, we've got high pressure.

That, through the last 24 hours, has been drifting its way southwards,

and so the easterly winds have pushed off

down in towards south-west Europe.

We've got the Atlantic air but, through Wednesday, outbreaks of rain

comes with cloud across Scotland, Northern Ireland

and, late in the day, far north of England and North Wales.

Not a thoroughly soggy day, still some breaks to the east of Scotland.

Could hit around 12 or 13 here.

Across England and Wales, most places will stay dry.

Sunniest in the morning, widespread frost.

7-10 degrees by the afternoon.

Through the evening, that thicker cloud will gradually work its way

across England and Wales, producing the odd spot

of light rain or drizzle,

but those winds coming off the Atlantic.

If we look out to the Atlantic and the jet stream,

it's got this undulating pattern,

which means that weather gets a bit more changeable

through the rest of the week.

The big lump you can see there, though, into Thursday is a ridge

of high pressure bringing up some milder air for all by this stage,

ahead of an approaching weather front.

So after some overnight cloud and patchy rain,

some breaks in the cloud boost the temperatures quite nicely.

Strong to maybe gale force winds later on across the west.

Outbreaks of rain Northern Ireland, Western Scotland and,

by the time we hit the end of the afternoon, in the far west of Wales.

But with some hazy sunshine still in the eastern areas,

12-14 degrees is certainly possible.

We stay mild as we go through the night and into Friday.

Outbreaks of rain pushing across most areas,

but this little wraparound of an occlusion close to the centre

of low pressure will feed in quite a wet day

on Friday, it looks like, in Northern Ireland.

Parts of west of Scotland as well.

Maybe a little bit of snow over the hills,

but for most it's rain.

Come away from that, it's a day of sunshine and showers on Friday.

Some showers heavy with hail and thunder, big gaps in between,

and there will be some, particularly in the eastern areas,

who will stay dry all day long.

Temperatures still getting to double figures for some.

Little bit cooler, admittedly, as we finish the week

going into the weekend, as we'll see on Wednesday and Thursday.

Low pressure, though, pushing further north.

That means showers will be migrating with it,

mainly across Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England.

Occasional showers, heavy with hail and thunder. Maybe a bit of sleet

over very high ground, but for most it's rain.

Head further south, well, a slight ridge of high pressure builds in.

Morning patchy mist and fog, maybe one or two showers.

But most places will actually be dry

and having a pretty decent weekend across southern areas.

We could see a weather system very close to the south-west into Sunday.

The emphasis is on that pushing towards western France

instead of our shores.

So still at the moment, much of England and Wales,

bar one or two isolated showers,

morning mist and fog clears, sunny spells, many will be dry.

A few showers continue in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

It's here where the breeze will still be a feature,

but not a cold weekend, with temperatures still 10-13 degrees.

Into next week, after this ridge of high pressure

caused by the jet stream,

the jet stream starts to charge a little bit more across.

It's putting its back into more changeable conditions

through much of the week.

That means low pressure a bit more dominant,

particularly to the north of the UK.

This is where it'll always be windier and, at times, wetter.

But it's by no means a wash-out of a week.

Still some drier, sunnier days. Compared to what we've had of late,

mild overall. But there are a few hints as we head towards Easter,

as low pressure pushes towards the east of us,

we could drag in some colder air.

Not the bitter easterly winds we've had, but temperatures dropping

relative to what we'll see through the week. We'll keep you updated.