100 years ago today, as the first world war ended, it was cold enough for snow in places. Today, it's much milder with sunny spells but also further heavy showers.
It'll certainly be much milder today than it was on Armistice Day a hundred years ago, that marked the end of the First World War. It was even cold enough on this day in 1918 for showers to fall as snow on hills and at lower levels over North East Scotland but for most, it was a fine, quite sunny day with a very cold, frosty night following.
For today it's a story of sunny intervals and showers, so take a mac if you're attending one of the many Remembrance Day services. There's already a line showers affecting Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, Wales, the Midlands and East Anglia where some are heavy and lengthy.
These will move North through the day with sunny spells following on behind, but further showers will develop through the morning. These will be mostly in the West, South and over Sussex and Kent where they could be quite frequent. Over much of Scotland and northern England, it's a finer but cold start, with a frost first thing in some sheltered eastern areas but showers will arrive later. Most favoured to miss them will be places around the Moray Firth, where much of the day should be fine. Although light In places at first, winds will become mostly moderate or fresh southerly and will be blustery in the vicinity of heavier showers. In the sunny intervals between times though it'll feel pleasantly mild, with top temperatures mostly in the range 10 to 14C.
There'll be further showers into the evening, especially over Northern Ireland where they'll merge into a longer spell of rain for a time before moving into all but the North East of Scotland overnight. There'll also be further showers in the West, over South Wales, the South West and along the South coast, some heavy and blustery. Elsewhere the showers should largely melt away overnight allowing skies to break sufficiently to give a few clear intervals. A southerly wind will remain fresh in the West and South West giving strong gusts, but in the East, winds will be lighter. This could allow it to turn cold enough towards dawn for a touch of grass frost again in some sheltered eastern rural valleys and glens, but for most, it'll be frost free night, with lowest temperatures mostly 4 to 9C.
For the start of the working week, it remains much the same. After a bright start particularly in the East with some sunshine, the cloud will build through the morning producing showers. Again some sheltered parts of the East and North East could miss them, while especially in the West and over Scotland later, the showers some heavy could become prolonged. Across Northern Ireland, it may start wet towards Down and Antrim, but it'll end up a day of sunny intervals and blustery showers.
A South to South West wind will remain moderate or fresh giving strong gusts in the West, but it'll continue mild, with temperatures reaching 10 to 13 locally 14C in the South and South East.
After dark, the showers begin to fade, with most central and eastern areas becoming dry overnight as pressure steadily rises. Elsewhere you'll remain prone to showers, with Northern Ireland, West Scotland, North West England and the West of Wales most likely to see these. A South West wind may decrease a little later in another largely frost free night, with lowest temperatures 4 to 8C.
Although largely eclipsed by the Armistice, the second week of November can sometimes produce what's known as St Martins little summer, with temperatures forecast to perhaps get as high as the low sixties Fahrenheit in places by mid-week where the sun comes through. The problem with this time of year, however, is that morning mist, patchy fog and low cloud often lingers, leading to gloomy conditions and cooler temperatures spoiling an otherwise fine day. Whether this singularity has any credence for the remainder of November is open to question. But like most weather lore, using this as a forecasting 'tool' can prove unreliable.
