'A swathe of warm air from the south is poised to blast across the country triggering torrential downpours and storms.'

I wonder if it pained Mr Rao to write that statement given the shite he's printed recently about blizzards and arctic conditions. 

Mind you, that would apportion a degree of responsibility on someone who clearly has absolutely no concept of the word at all.

I don't really blame Nathan or other tabloid journalists. They know a lot of people are stupid and will believe what they read. If people stopped buying the Express, they would stop and start printing the truth

I think it was one of  Kelvin McKenzie's famous lines during his daily staff meetings at the Sun

"So what are we going to tell the Morons today ?!"

In true TWO winter style..here is the Met Office forecast.  

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/forecast

UK Outlook for Tuesday 22 Dec 2015 to Thursday 31 Dec 2015:

A mild start in the south with outbreaks of rain and drizzle, heaviest in the southwest, while northern parts will be fresher with strong winds and blustery showers. Rain and drizzle should clear southeastwards by Wednesday to leave all areas with the colder, showery conditions. Thereafter the weather is expected to remain unsettled across all parts with rain at times. Rain is likely to be heaviest and most persistent in the north and west, with the best of the drier conditions across southeast England. It will also continue to be occasionally windy with gales in places, again the north and west being most prone. Temperatures will be closer to average than of late, but still generally above, with any snowfall restricted to the high ground of Scotland and northern England.

UK Outlook for Friday 1 Jan 2016 to Friday 15 Jan 2016:

A continuation of mainly mild and unsettled weather is expected as we move into the new year with showers or longer spells of rain, interspersed with some drier and brighter interludes. The heaviest and most persistent of the rainfall will probably occur in western parts, while eastern areas could see some longer dry spells. It is also expected to be windy at times, with a risk of occasional gales or severe gales, particularly in the north and west. As January progresses there is an increasing likelihood of pressure rising in the south, leading to drier weather here, but also the risk of overnight frost and fog. Unsettled conditions seem likely to persist throughout in the north.

When did Nathan Rao jump ship from the Dreary Excess?

He didnt exactly - he went contracting and setup his own "Weather media company"

His headlines grab attention and can be useful for the gutter press, so hes realised he can print his stories into the Mirror and Express and double his profits.

However his Twitter handle still refers to "Express" which could cause him a few headaches if things go sour.

Corrected your post for you.

Rao is a charlatan of the highest order and should be confined to the stocks and pelted with rotten tomatoes.
If spouting false information was a crime he'd get life for sure.

J Hammond on N24

Chillier towards Xmas , Southerly tracking low's

Much uncertainty in the forecast thats for sure

A bit of rain would be welcome

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35144320

Its not just us...

 A raw day after a frosty start on Xmas day

J Hammond

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2635167#outlook

Monday 21 December Published at 10:00

Monthly Outlook

Summary

It's beginning to look a lot like....

...winter will never arrive! With Christmas week upon us however, there are signs that this week we will get a few chillier spells, and while we're not talking picture postcard territory, a few spots could possible even see a white Christmas*.
The bigger picture though, remains one in which the Atlantic still maintains its dominance over our weather patterns so the milder spells will never be far away. Crucially, with it being a busy travel period, windier and wetter days may have an impact on your plans so stay tuned to the latest BBC TV and Radio forecasts for updates.

*don't dig out your sledges yet though

Monday 21 December—Sunday 27 December

Driving home for Christmas?

Monday starts a bit cooler than recent days, but milder southwesterly winds strengthen (with coastal gales) before a spell of rain sweeps southeastwards during the day. Heaviest rain on western hills, followed by drier and clearer conditions spreading to all parts by the end of day.
More windy weather for all on Tuesday, with gales expected. Most will see some rain too, but heaviest will always be on western hills, and this may bring the risk of some minor flooding to areas where the ground remains saturated and rivers high. The winter solstice and shortest day of the year it might be, but across the south and east it'll also be the mildest day of the week.
Cooler, but clearer weather for most then through the night and into Wednesday. Blustery winds should prevent a frost for most, but bring in showers (wintry over northern hills) to punctuate the sunnier spells. Driest/sunniest in south and east.
Christmas Eve is a day to keep a close eye on the forecast if you're on the move across the UK. Blustery weather is expected UK-wide, but we could start the day with severe gales (lower chance storm force winds) in the north of Scotland. A spell of heavy rain will sweep southeast, followed by clearer conditions and also the coldest weather of the week, just in time to coincide with...
...CHRISTMAS DAY. Potentially a crisp start in northern and eastern areas, with some frost in places. Looks like most of you will open the curtains to sunny spells. Showers in northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland could even bring some brief flurries of snow...over the hills! Before the day is out cloud, rain and a strengthening wind.
Boxing Day, and Sunday takes many back to square one, with milder weather and spells of wind and rain. The exception possibly being parts of Scotland.

Monday 28 December—Sunday 3 January

Should auld acquaintance be forgot...

...Mother Nature could bring us a brief reminder of what drier, sunnier weather is like. It appears that high pressure may build over Europe and exert its influence over us here in the UK (especially eastern areas). However, with a southerly flow dominating at first expect the unseasonably mild weather to continue. As strong winds weaken there's a greater chance of some cooler nights with a touch of frost. Northwestern areas of the UK always run the chance of being clipped by Atlantic weather fronts, and later in the week and into the New Year winds may start to return to a more west to southwesterly direction. Yes! More spells of wind and rain.

Monday 4 January—Sunday 17 January

Talk about the resolution...

If yours is to be not still mowing the lawn at the start of January you may have to be strong! Above-average temperatures are the most likely outcome to begin with. Computer models are keen to bring the changeable Atlantic weather back in. Colder spells are likely to be brief, and be between windy Atlantic low pressure systems. How much these will impact southeastern parts of the UK remains open to question as high pressure will never be too far away, and there are hints the high pressure may extend a little further northwards towards mid-month.

Next week

More details on whether you'll be welcoming in the New Year in your short-sleeves or gloves.

Boris on the unseasonably mild December in the Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/weather/12060976/I-cant-stand-this-December-heat-but-it-has-nothing-to-do-with-global-warming.html

And guess who he has been talking to - Jeremy's brother, Piers!

Tomasz Sch... at 10 pm last night not holding out any hope of the jet stream shifting from its 'mild' position until New Year, if then.

But going in for a bit of straw-clutching, Siberian cold weather is showing up at last - all it's got to do is find a way to get here!

http://www.wxmaps.org/pix/temp4.html 

Probably a reply to the occasional idiotic Express headlines forecasting extreme cold and blizzards every few weeks. People always want to know if there's a cold spells around the corner.

Until the next time we get one like this.

I seem to remember you saying much the same thing many a time during winter 2013/14, Maunder!

Agreed Albert, it's a shocker up there with many other recent shockers.

To be fair, John, the ECM ensemble suite puts the Arctic air about 1,000 miles to our east and even the deterministic run shows us within a westerly regime still at Day 10.  The GFS mean does much the same, certainly not enough yet, I would have guessed, to merit even a hint in the long-range forecast.

I imagine that if the model op runs persist with what they are presently showing for another few days on a consistent basis, and the ensembles then start to tag on, then we may well see the MetO alter their thoughts. I have been following the MetO's updates for long enough to know that sometimes, they can change their outlook quite noticeably from one day to the next, when they see enough evidence to suggest a change of pattern is on the way.

Total dismissal of any Easterly on the 21:55 from A Deakin