Telly days on the sofa a wise choice as Corrie blows in
IF WE needed any further encouragement to stay indoors, the weather is about to provide it. The high pressure that has dominated the past week in the UK, bringing mild temperatures, is moving away towards Iceland. In its place is coming low pressure, sucking in winds from the Arctic that will turn the air very cold – and maybe even Christmassy.
After yesterday served up the last fruits of that high pressure – low cloud, almost no wind at all, and a complete absence of chill – things will change as today dawns. The wind will return and blow in from Scandinavia all along the north-east coastline. As a result, from Edinburgh down through Newcastle to Hull, the mercury will dip down to 45F (7C), but further south and west, the last remnants of the unseasonably good weather of late will cling on sufficiently to allow for 48F (9C) in southern and south-western England and South Wales.
That residual warmth ebbs away on Monday. In the east, rain will combine with that cold onshore wind. By Tuesday, there should be another shift, this time to a more northernly wind, straight from the Arctic. So the temperatures will continue to drop, but there should also be less cloud. Expect decent intervals of sunshine, with bright blue sky despite the cold.
Looking further ahead, the air mass over the whole of the UK will remain resolutely wintery, with all attempts by high pressure to build in warmth from the south-west rebuffed. Normally that would be a disappointment, but it means as we approach Christmas Day the prospect of snow is very real, even if only over high ground in north-east England and eastern Scotland. There is talk, provisional as yet, that by Dec 27 the next named storm, Corrie (no relation to the soap opera) will be upon us, with freezing temperatures in north-western parts.