Thursday afternoon forecast 18/01/24
18 January - National weather forecast presented by Annie Shuttleworth.
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00:00Good afternoon. After another very cold start this morning, there is still plenty of sunshine
00:04out there to be had this afternoon and that will likely last into Friday for many areas.
00:09You can see on the latest satellite picture we have here, clear blue skies across much
00:14of the country. However, there is thicker cloud across coastal areas and into Scotland
00:19as well and Northern Ireland and that just shows where we've got showers. These mainly
00:22falling as snow but sleet in more southern areas. And that's all to do with our wind
00:27direction where we see our showers across the UK. We've got a northerly wind direction
00:31at the moment but and that's as a result of high pressure centred slightly to the west
00:36of the UK bringing in that northerly Arctic air. However, through the rest of the day
00:41and into Friday, that high pressure will shift its position and our wind direction will change
00:46as well. So as it pushes more centrally across the UK, we get a northwesterly and then more
00:50of a westerly wind developing by Friday and into the weekend. So those subtle changes
00:56will change where we see any showers through the rest of the day and into the tomorrow
01:01as well. So that means that any showers that we've seen across Wales and eastern areas
01:05should start to fade away, leaving dry weather for the bulk of the UK. However, snow showers
01:10will persist for parts of the Highlands and the Northern Isles. That's where we've still
01:14got that amber snow warning in force. We've got gusty winds as well here. So there's quite
01:18treacherous driving conditions and also the snow showers pushing in across western areas
01:23of Scotland and Northern Ireland could bring a risk of ice on any untreated roads. So if
01:27you are in these areas, do take care if you're travelling through the rest of the day and
01:31through Friday as well. But elsewhere, it's going to be a dry afternoon with light winds
01:36and plenty of sunshine. It won't feel too bad in the sunshine if you do wrap up with
01:40a few layers or so with highs of three or four degrees for many central and southern
01:44areas. Tonight, there will be another very cold night, particularly across the south
01:49where we see the clearest skies. We could see a bit of mist and fog, freezing fog in
01:53fact, across parts of Wales and central areas of England. And temperatures here will dip
01:58down as low as minus nine or possibly minus 10 in the south. It will be slightly milder
02:04but still pretty chilly across parts of Scotland. With a bit more cloud, though, temperatures
02:08won't be dipping down quite as low. However, that will see more thicker cloud and more
02:13persistent rain starting to move into northwestern areas of Scotland. And that brings a further
02:18risk of snow and ice through tomorrow morning. So do take care if you're here across northwestern
02:24Scotland through Friday morning. However, elsewhere across the bulk of the UK, once
02:28again, it's going to be another dry and sunny day. And we're starting to see that westerly
02:33wind come in. That's bringing slightly milder air. So that means that we'll feel a little
02:37bit warmer in the sunshine, warmer than it has been at least. So temperatures around
02:42average, if not just a touch below five or six degrees, a little bit milder in the south
02:47and west where we're closer to that milder air. Of a notice in the far north of Scotland,
02:53it's staying cloudy through much of the day with those snow showers persisting, particularly
02:58across the Highlands. Through Friday evening across eastern areas, the weather will continue
03:03in the similar vein it has done through much of the week. Plenty of crisp, clear weather.
03:06It'll be a cold evening. However, in the west, cloud will thicken ahead of this weather front
03:11that's starting to move in for the weekend. So we'll turn cloudier and quite breezy by
03:16the end of the day on Friday. And that marks a change that we'll see over the weekend to
03:21significantly more unsettled weather. We see some very strong winds, particularly on Sunday
03:26and some heavy rain. We do have a weather warning out for many areas on Sunday. So make
03:30sure you take a closer look at those details and you can find a full weekend forecast with
03:35Alex Burkhill later today. See you next time.