January was exceptionally wet across much of the UK, away from NW England and western Scotland, with Northern Ireland recording its wettest January in 149 years. After mid-month, frequent Atlantic low-pressure systems brought persistent heavy rain and strong winds, leading to widespread flooding on already saturated ground. Some regions in the southwest received more than triple their average monthly rainfall.
Unfortunately the short-term outlook is for yet more rain on the way this week and also some hill snow in the north too, with colder air here. Low pressure systems remain dominant close to the west, bringing further areas rain northwards ahead of them.
A yellow rain warning in place for Somerset, Dorset, parts of Wiltshire and Hampshire through Tuesday. Persistent rain across southern England and Wales this morning will slowly move northwards. Cloudy but mostly dry ahead of this rain over northern England.
There are already yellow warnings for 10–20cm of snow in northern and eastern Scotland along with the Northern Isles, thanks to cold air crossing the North Sea picking up moisture and dumping it as rain on the coast and sleet and snow inland over the hills and mountains, this merging with rain and hill snow pushing up from the south too over the next 24 hours.
There is also potential for hill snow, with yellow snow and ice warnings in place, for northern England and north Wales above 200m from this evening and overnight, giving a covering of 1-3cm in places, with risk of icy stretches, as the rain arrives from the south and bumps into and increasingly colder airmass spreading west across the north.
The UKV charts below (pink for snow, green for sleet) shows the hill snow for the north as the freezing level drops for a time in the cold airmass flooding west across the north.
Wednesday looks like it will be a much better day for England and Wales, mostly dry with sunny spells, as outbreaks of rain and hill snow spreading north today and tonight become confined to Scotland and by the end of the day, the far north of Scotland. Less cold than today too in the south, with temperatures reaching double figures, still cold for Scotland though.
Thursday will see a new low pressure system move in closer to the southwest, bringing showers north across England, Wales and N. Ireland, while wintry showers will feed in off the North Sea , across eastern Scotland - where it will still be cold. Western Scotland probably staying dry and bright.
Friday sees low pressure still close to the southwest bring a more organised area of rain northwards across England and Wales, followed by showers. The northeast still cold with wintry showers off the North Sea, the far northwest dry and bright.
Next weekend staying unsettled for most, with low pressure close to the west feeding further showers or longer spells of rain north across many areas.
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