Friday is another cold one with strong to gale-force northerly winds (especially down the North Sea Coast) while heavy snow along with the strong winds across Highland Scotland is making for blizzard conditions and very tricky driving conditions.

Most prone ‘snowy routes’ have been closed due to heavy snow and blowing and drifting.

Powerful northerly winds running down the North Sea Coast is making for significant coastal and surge flooding.

After what will be a cold open to Saturday with a widespread hard frost, winds turn westerly and so mild Atlantic air kicks out arctic.

So, the first half of the weekend remains chilly while the second half sees a significant warming trend with increase in cloud followed by outbreaks of patchy rain later as warmer air moves in. This milder theme continues into next week but there is substantial consistency in various models that a strengthening upper high lifts north from UK into Scandinavia. With a west-east ‘elongated’ high over low, easterlies are likely to push colder continental air into at least the southern half of the UK mid and late next week.

Both GFS ensemble 5-DAY MEAN 500mb height anomaly and 850mb temp anomaly shows colder continental air pulling west across England and Wales.

5-day mean 850mb temp anomaly

Watch this morning’s video.