Watch out, there still might be a beast about
If you missed out on the 4in (10cm) of snow that blanketed parts of Scotland and northern England last week, then the siren warnings all around of a return of the Beast from the East may be fuelling hopes of getting that toboggan out.
The original Beast pounced in February 2018 as bitter winds from Siberia blew in across the North Sea. What unleashed it then – sudden stratospheric warming in the atmosphere high above the northern hemisphere – has been happening again. Whether it will result in the same consequences, though, depends on a range of factors coinciding, and that is seeming more unlikely than likely. But it can change very quickly.
What is more certain is that the area of low pressure that sent wind and rain sweeping southwards and eastwards across the country yesterday is going to be replaced this morning by high pressure. That is heading in from the south west and bringing with it milder air that will push up temperatures and even bring some sunshine for England and Wales. It will not, however, make it all the way up into Scotland and Northern Ireland, so brace yourself there for more rain and wind.
Down in Cornwall and Devon, that warming balm will see the mercury climb to 48F (9C), decent enough for January, with London and Cardiff at 46F (8C) and the rest of the country northwards at 45F (7C). And that is how it will stay tomorrow – dry and sunny on the whole, but the further north you are, the greater the chance of rain.
After that, with the wind switching to northerly, it is going to get colder. Quite how cold as yet is not clear, but keep a weather eye out for the Beast who turns the landscape white.