Weather and climate change

Headline:

A very windy weekend. Rain, then blustery showers. Turning colder.

Today:

Windy, with severe gales in the north. Rain moving south-eastwards across all parts on Saturday morning, lingering across southern England into the afternoon. Elsewhere turning sunnier, though colder, with blustery showers.

Tonight:

Frequent blustery showers continue overnight, turning increasingly to sleet and snow over the hills in the north and west. Some clear spells between the showers and remaining very windy.

Sunday:

A cold and very windy day on Sunday with sunny spells and blustery, wintry showers, these tending to fall as rain into the afternoon. Feeling cold despite the sunshine.

Outlook for Monday to Wednesday:

Turning milder during Monday and Christmas Eve with outbreaks of rain spreading southeast, and still windy. Drier in the south into Christmas Day although still rather damp in the north.

Updated: 04:00 (UTC) on Sat 21 Dec 2024

Christmas Day weather will be characterised by mild, cloudy conditions for most, with bits of drizzle in places and perhaps some more persistent rain in northwest Scotland. This sets the scene for the next few days too, with an area of high pressure becoming established across much of the UK, probably centred over or just to the south of England. The highest chance of rain and strong winds will be in northwest Scotland, with many other areas predominantly dry but rather cloudy, although more settled conditions may well extend to the northwest at times too. Widely mild at first, perhaps exceptionally so in some places early on, but temperatures probably returning to nearer normal by early January. Throughout, any clearer spells overnight may lead to localised frost and fog.

Updated: 14:00 (UTC) on Fri 20 Dec 2024

Slowly-evolving weather expected through much of this period. Overall, there is a reduced chance compared with normal of wet and windy spells, with instead greater potential for colder episodes during the first half of January. While drier than average conditions are likely for many areas, some precipitation is still expected, which could lead to wintry hazards at times. Temperatures are likely to be close to or a little above normal overall, but this could be made up of a mix of milder and colder interludes.

Updated: 15:00 (UTC) on Fri 20 Dec 2024