Dry, mild and windy with touch of sun in the sky
WE may still be waiting for our own next named storm of the winter, but in a tight-packed continent like Europe we inevitably get to sample offcuts of other countries’ exceptional weather. So northern Scotland through last week and this weekend will feel the fallout of Norway’s Storm Ingunn, which saw winds of 139mph. Meanwhile the rest of us will be enjoying mild, if blustery, conditions.
Today will begin much as yesterday ended. A weak weather front from the west will bring cloud and rain to Northern Ireland, western Scotland and north-west England over the morning. Early on, it will feel dank and gloomy but that should clear. More favoured are eastern parts, with outbreaks of sunshine along the coast from Edinburgh to East Anglia.
The most noticeable factor, however, will be the warming influence of a south-westerly breeze, blowing up from the Tropics. Its relative (compared to Ingunn) brisk pace comes from most of the UK being sandwiched between low pressure to the north and high to the south. Down in the south-east corner of England, that means 57F (14C), well above seasonal averages. The benefits of this mild air will also be widely distributed. Norfolk will see 55F (13C), most of the rest of England, plus Wales and Northern Ireland 54F (12C), and southern Scotland 50F (10C).
The good news continues into the working week with more of the same, though the centre of the low pressure to the north will drift closer to northern Scotland, pushing the rain and cloud southwards. But that high pressure to the south is going nowhere fast and so we can anticipate dry, mild and blustery conditions into the week.