Hope everyone had a great New Year!

Despite high pressure being the driver for the opening week of 2017, the UK has a mixed bag with subtle west-east shifts in the HP altering wind direction from a polar-maritime NNW to maritime WNW back to NNW or N. These seemingly slight changes in wind direction can make the difference between clearer and colder or cloudier and milder.

Today is cool and largely bright with some wintry showers in the North but tomorrow is slightly milder as NW winds veer more WNW tomorrow.

Tomorrow

Then it’s a near straight northerly Wednesday, albeit brief as the HP core builds over the UK.

This should make for a particularly chilly night Wed into Thu.

All the while, notice the big intense low descending into the Baltic States. This is a major and widespread snow producer with powerful winds likely to create blizzard conditions, nasty travel and potential power supply issues.

Check out the GFS snow forecast through the next several days.

The GFS 10 day remains bullish.

As the snows spread south, so a tongue of bitterly cold air stabs across the central swathe of Europe but core bends into the Balkans and Greece this weekend where records could be challenged.

There is definitely elements of winter 2011-12 showing here with blocking high too near the UK.