More of the same, clearer and colder across southern England, cloudier and milder further north. Clearer skies and frost risk perhaps extending further north Friday. Weekend colder but often cloudy with the odd wintry flurry.
The weather is stuck in a rut this week, thanks to high pressure, with little change in conditions today from the last few days, depending on where you are. So this means much of Britain will again be blanketed in cloud and damp in places – while southern England will be mostly clear and sunny. The clearer conditions will extend a little further north on Friday. Through the weekend, it looks to turn colder as we import a continental flow from the southeast off a cold Europe, though it will be cloudy in places, thick enough for the odd wintry flurry. Similar into next week, with high pressure in control. No meaningful rainfall likely until perhaps later next week, when we may see a breakdown from the west.
For now, clear skies across much of southern England and the south Midlands overnight has led to a widespread frost, with temperatures as low as -6C in Farnborough to the SW of London and -5C across parts of central southern England. However, further north it’s a rather grey start again, though parts of eastern Scotland, especially around Aberdeenshire, have clearer skies and a slight frost.
Little change in the skies for the rest of the day, southern England and East Anglia seeing clear skies and winter sunshine, grey skies from the Midlands north, with a slow-moving weak weather front straddling Wales and central England thickening the cloud enough to bring the odd spot of rain and hill fog. Cloudy across Scotland generally, though the cloud base will be higher here with some breaks towards eastern Scotland, but some patchy rain or drizzle for the Northern and Western Isles.
Light winds generally today, which will mean some high pollution levels under higher pressure across southern areas – particularly cities like London. Temperatures lowest across southern England and East Anglia where we have clearer skies - reaching 5-7C at best. Under the cloud further north, reaching 8-10C.
Then tonight, little change, clear skies across southern England, East Anglia, south Midlands and far south of Wales leading to another widespread frost. Cloudier skies further north, thick enough in places to bring hill fog and the odd spot of drizzle and keeping temperatures above freezing. Some cloud breaks across eastern Scotland and N. Ireland will allow a patchy frost here though.
Friday seeing clear skies and sunshine extend from southern England further north across Wales, parts of the Midlands and East Anglia, but much of northern England along with southern Scotland and N. Ireland staying rather grey and misty again. North of the central belt of Scotland, we should hopefully see more in the way of sunshine than recent days. Most places dry with light winds, temperatures reaching 6-8C generally.
Then over the weekend, high pressure remains largely in charge at the surface, so most places will be dry, but it will be generally colder as we import a colder and drier airmass from the southeast at the surface off the near continent. Saturday will be the driest day, with the best chance of seeing some sunshine, particularly away from central parts where it’ll be cloudier. There will be a cold pool aloft drifting north and moisture moving in from the west on Sunday, which will produce thicker cloud at times, thick enough to bring the odd wintry flurry in places. So sunshine maybe more limited on Sunday I think. Frosty overnight – where skies clear.
Colder and drier air at the surface spreading NW from France this weekend