The accummulative effect of cold combined with clear skies and light winds sets the stage for what is likely to be the UK’s coldest night yet, highs today failed to hit freezing for many and this sets a cold base for a sharper fall in temperatures widely overnight, fog formation and a thin bank of cloud pushing into parts of the western UK will slow or halt the cooling process for many. For some, it will not be as cold as last night but where clouds and fog hold back, it will in fact be colder than last night.[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level1)]

Parts of the Highland and Grampian Glens are likely to stay clear for most of the night and with snowcover and lows already near -10C in parts by 10pm, Wednesday could dawn with temperatures hovering between -12/-13C with an outside chance of a -14C somewhere.

Parts of England may push -10C with Benson, Oxfordshire a ‘cold contender’ but even towns and cities which manage to escape overnight dense fog formation may fall to -6 or -7C by morning.

The very dense freezing fog which is well underway tonight will be thick enough to produce tiny flakes of snow or grain, this won’t be enough to accumulate but merely float through the subfreezing air.

During tomorrow light snow showers may effect several parts of the UK including London and other parts of the South as well as across Southern Scotland.

Change Starting To Show Across Ireland

The milder, damper regime taking over Ireland tonight signals the start of a significant change in our weather after a rather transient but by no means mild first half of December and I certainly wouldn’t rule out the return of a cold but transient regime later in the month.

While tomorrow and to a lesser degree, Thursday remains cold and fairly settled with a chance of some snow spreading across Southern England with minimal, local accumulations, a front heralding a significant change in our weather sweeps in late Thursday. Friday will be wet and very windy throughout the UK with heavy snow over the Highlands.

Friday’s system associated with a large low out over the Atlantic could be problematic. Not only will there be strong to gale-force winds, there will be heavy rain and as this falls on frozen ground, so there’s poor absorption into soils. Flooding will be a concern.

The pattern appears to be shaping into a more westerly setup with the NAO showing signs of recovery back towards neutral and so the block breaks down across the north.
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