BBC weather update - looks like we won't see a cold spell in January now either!? - This is becoming a deja vu of last year, but just less rain!? I mean 14.5c now - this is ridiculously unseasonably mild. Hope Matty H or someone on admin can create a "No snow Moaning thread!"
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Monthly Outlook
Summary
A cold Christmas, but what about New Year?
Last week, most parts of the country saw particularly varied weather, even by the UK's changeable standards! Cloudy and damp spells brought in by mild westerly winds were regularly interrupted by incursions of colder, clearer air from the northwest. As result, overnight temperatures varied from values more akin to November daytime maxima through to the more seasonal sub zero temperatures that brought some icy patches on other nights. Northern parts of the UK experienced a decent stream of snow showers at times, but all areas saw plenty of mild weather too.
As we head through Christmas week and into the New Year, we look set to continue this varied theme mild and colder spells. Read on to find some of the details...
Monday 22 December—Sunday 28 December
A Christmas chill to feed in from the north?
The festive week gets underway with a familiar scenario. A weather front will lie across Scotland and Northern Ireland, marking the boundary between colder air to its north, and milder air to its south.
In the colder regime, skies will tend to be clearer with spells of crisp sunshine by day, lighter winds and overnight frosts, but there will be the risk of some wintry showers, that will bring some snow to the hills of northern Scotland in particular.
Along the front and to its south, we can expect much cloudier conditions and some prolonged outbreaks of rain, particularly for western facing hills, with eastern areas staying largely dry. The strength of the winds along the front and to its south will also be noteworthy, with particularly blustery conditions anticipated for areas to the east of The Pennines and the far southeast of Scotland early in the week.
Gradually, through Tuesday, Wednesday (Christmas Eve), and Thursday (Christmas Day), the weather front is expected sink southwards, allowing the colder, clearer conditions to reach to all parts by Christmas Day. Most places should become cold, dry and bright by Christmas Day, with just a few snow showers for north and northeast of Scotland. There is just a slight risk at the time of writing that the weather front may slow up a little as it transits southwards across southern Scotlland and Northern England. Should this happen, we could see a more prolonged spell of rain and possibly snow for these parts during Christmas Eve, but this is a low risk scenario.
Boxing day should start off clear and cold again, but as we head into the weekend, a deep area of low pressure is expected to swing in from the Atlantic, bringing some wet and very windy weather, particularly for northwestern parts, with even the risk of a transient period of snow for some more northern parts of the UK.
Monday 29 December—Sunday 4 January
A New Year but back to square one with the weather
The low pressure system that is likely to bring some particularly unsettled weather to northwestern parts of the UK through the previous weekend is expected to clear away to the east fairly readily through the last few days of the year. So at the time of writing, there seems to be a chance that the old year could end and the New Year begin on a relatively dry, clear and potentially chilly note. That said, all the latest weather forecasting techniques and computer models suggest that any such quieter, colder interlude will once again be swiftly replaced by a milder, wetter and windier westerly regime. In effect, this mean a return to the familiar pattern of cold and mainly dry conditions, followed by mild, wet and windy conditions that we have experienced through the last several weeks.
Monday 5 January—Sunday 18 January
Still no real sign of a prolonged cold spell
All the indications are that, as we move through to the end of January, the song remains the same! We continue to monitor the atmosphere and computer models, looking for any indications of a potential change to a less mobile and changeable weather set up over the UK. So far though, any sign of a prolonged cold or milder spell has yet to appear, and for the time being, it seems we will have to contend with large changes in weather conditions on an almost day to day basis! This means that milder, windy and wet spells will likely be interrupted by colder, clearer intervals. Of course, here at the BBC Weather Centre, we will continue to monitor the situation, and will keep you informed of any changes to the longer term forecast.
Home Location - Kellands Lane, Okehampton, Devon (200m ASL)
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Sean Moon
Magical Moon
www.magical-moon.com