Raging Jet Stream Means Another Unsettled Week Of Weather

They say a picture can tell a thousand words, so we may as well start with that this morning. It's the Jet Stream for the week ahead you can see below, it's strong and nearby throughout, which can only mean one thing: more unsettled weather, with spells of wind, rain and showers to come.

A period of wet weather has cleared through overnight, leaving many eastern and central parts of the country with a dry start to the day, even with some sunshine poking through the cloud at times. There's already some showery rain affecting southern Scotland, the far north of Scotland and other western parts of Britain, along with Ireland. And that's all going to play a more prominent role as the day wears on. 

The showers in the west will tend to spread further east, not all will catch any, especially in eastern and central areas, but if you do, you're likely to know about it as many will be heavy and even thundery at times. The rain in the south of Scotland will spread during the day as well, but it's also Scotland where there's the best shot of staying dry today. With the northern half of the country (away from the very far north) likely to get away with some sunny spells, although it will be chilly here.

We'll see a real north-south split in our temperatures today, with that rain in the south of Scotland the dividing line between very mild air in the south and colder air to the north. In the warmer regions, 12-15c will be typical, maybe a touch warmer in parts of the southeast, whereas further north, 3-6c will be about your lot. 

Overnight tonight, the rain across southern Scotland keeps coming for a time and spreads a little further north, with some snow up over the high ground of the Highlands before it all eases away to the east by dawn. Elsewhere, lots of cloud and still some showers affecting western parts. It'll be a frost free night across England and Wales, but for Scotland, particularly later in the night once the rain has cleared there'll be some clear spells which will allow temperatures to drop below freezing, that could mean some ice about first thing.

Monday will see a scattering of (at times, wintry) showers across Scotland, and a group of organised showers running in from the west to England and Wales but elsewhere it'll be dry. Temperatures will be on their way down across England and Wales though, as the colder air in the north spills further south. Winds across the south will be blustery and still blowing from the west or southwest, but elsewhere it'll be calmer with a light northerly breeze. 

Tuesday extends the respite a little longer as it starts fine, but chilly start, with a widespread frost, particularly across the northern half of the country. The quieter weather won't last though, with a small low pressure system moving nearby to the north of Scotland early on, bringing increased winds and some rain with snow over the hills, to the far north. The main spell of wind and rain will be moving up from the southwest though, and as that arrives we may well see some hill snow across northern England and later Scotland.

The rain will eventually clear southeast during Wednesday with showers following behind it. A chilly, mainly dry night follows but more wind and rain won't be far off, this time moving into the northwest first, before spreading through to other parts. The week ends with further rain, showers and potentially a spell of very strong winds as low pressure moves across Scotland and into the North Sea.

There's some uncertainty over the track, intensity and timing of all of this, but potentially is one to watch with gales or even severe gales possible.