Not very exciting charts this morning - looks to be standard November fare on ECM - this is interesting in deep FI on GFS though:

http://www.meteociel.fr/modeles/gfse_cartes.php?&ech=336&mode=0  

Does end up as a toppler but chance of another cold shot were that to verify.

8-10 day forecast looks like the return of the Euro slug possibly ,but winds more from the W/NW this time around so not as mild as it has been if this comes off:

http://mp1.met.psu.edu/~fxg1/ECMWF_0z/hgtcomp.html

This had been the general theme for some weeks, with a gradual down tick of maxes as the flow occasionally swings into vectors north of west (the MetO extended scripts have been modifying to reflect this ad has my own outlook). The brief cold blast this weekend is a nice departure and we are likely to see a rinse and repeat a few times going towards December.

One thing of note and this is entirely based on visual of charts but I think the colder upper air pushes into the W Atlantic look more potent than I've seen at this stage in previous years. It might mean NW flows are a few degrees colder than average. 

Tell you something though, looking at some of the outputs, even if the snow thing fail to come off over the weekend (it is a very low chance in any case), the day time temperature of 3 C to 5 C and a 35 mph north wind on Saturday and into Sunday is really going to make it raw biting cold for our neck of the woods.
  That's going to be a real shock to the system after this current mild weather - in fact, I may even find myself issuing a rare wind chill factor advisory for this weekend in my own weather page.

Indeed it is , rather chilly to say the least

I agree a much fresher feel seems to be on the way with regular NWly outbreaks....breezy too

Quiet in here, surprising with some of the outputs over the last few days, it's more busy when the charts are showing mild weather...either that your the usual informative posters are worried about splinters 

I won't get excited till Quantum opens a dedicated thread for the weekend 

JFF

http://expert-images.weatheronline.co.uk/daten/proficharts/en/2015/11/18/basis06/ukuk/prty/15112112_1806.gif

whats a streamer ? and how does it effect cheshire....if it does

A cool flow from ECM

Streamers usually develop in unstable air on a northerly to northwesterly wind.  The cold spell looks too fleeting and too much of a northerly t the moment.  Meaning apart from places like Anglesey and Southwest Wales - most of western Britain will most likely stay dry.

By Sunday the cold is dissipating and returning to normal temps by Monday

So the lack of commotion on here is due to the fact that really this will present a small chance of a wintry shower in the early hours of Saturday, but most probably we will just be cold and dry away from mountains of Northern Britain.

Scottish ski resorts will do bestout of this.

Cool maybe, but distinctly unexciting - too much pressure to our south, too little blocking to our north.

Indeed but id rather that than mild crap .

Yes, the cold snap is a 2 day wonder for many.  Then its a return to conditions close to average, after the 2nd warmest start to November ever on record in the UK.  This will leave the monthly CET stranded well towards 10c as an end point as we head into the final third of November.

Its becoming increasingly difficult for me to suspend the hope that December and January will be able to overcome the warm inertia imposed upon the airs and seas hereabouts by this record breaking November.

I would like to see some cold weather sustained for a while but I fear it could be a long wait.  The only comfort being that despite all the above, the weather is still ultimately chaotic, and though the conditions seem stacked against a decent cold spell this winter, the outside possibility cannot be completely denied.  The charts can change quickly and therein lays the hope for something less zonal. 

I think 2010 changed peoples thoughts about winter.  With alot of people comparing everything against it, or in some cases - it escersised some overdue Snow drought demons, which satisfied the appetites which has fueled the weather msg boards for many years.

So when the slightest chance of cold appears - which would have produced 2 or 3 model watch threads, now people discuss whether it will turn into 2010 / 2013 or 2009.

2010 was a once in a lifetime event, most people won't get excited over a brief Northerly plunge with some frost. And the outside chance of seeing a flake of snow

I think its just nice to feel a bit of an early cold snap before winter starts, guessing games about a mild winter is just FI stuff, now casting is the real world that's why I like this forum,

November 2010 was certainly exceptional in that the severe wintry spell commenced before the end of November; though I had occasionally seen snow in November previously, I cannot recall any other occasion in my lifetime when a sustained severe wintry spell commenced that early. December 2009 turned severe, but that did not occur until about a week before Xmas, three weeks or so later than in 2010.

Back to the here and now, and there is certainly no suggestion from the current output of a repeat of Nov 2010 in the offing. That said, it does look like turning somewhat cooler across the board compared to what we've seen over the past 3-4 weeks. It will certianly feel noticeably colder after the recent mildness.

Maybe . CFS is picking something up for the Christmas period

People have been doing that for years. When an easterly appears on the models, January 1987 is conjured up. 1946-47 is always resurrected as an example of a winter arriving late. Cold zonality and January 1984.

This goes back before 2010, the only difference is that these have been now added to the list for comparison. 

And I know you can cite many more examples than that, Kev 😀👌