United Kingdom
Warnings
Tuesday 20 December Published at 00:46
UK Warnings
Weather Warning
2011-12-20 00:46:50Tuesday 20th December
The Met Office has issued a YELLOW warning of ICE, covering Scotland and parts of northern England.
Snowfall and wintry showers falling onto cold ground will bring a risk of icy conditions. The risk will then increase overnight as temperatures fall and untreated wet surfaces freeze.
Valid from 1400 on Monday 19th until 1200 on Tuesday 20th.
Flood Warning
2011-12-20 00:46:38Tuesday 20th December
There are no flood warnings in force in the United Kingdom.
Further updates will appear here.
About the Met Office Weather Warnings
BBC Weather carries two types of weather warnings issued by the Met Office: Warnings and Early Warnings.
Warnings will be issued when severe weather is expected within the next 24 hours.
Early Warnings will be issued more than 24 hours ahead of severe weather.
There are three categories of event Red, Amber and Yellow - the most severe is Red.
A Warning and an Early Warning of the same colour have the same severity but are forecast to arrive at different times. Thus, the difference between a Red Warning and a Red Early Warning is the lead time of the event.
When a warning is in force, full information can be found at Met Office Weather Warnings
About the Environment Agency Flood Warnings
The flood warnings are issued by the Environment Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and sent to the BBC Weather Centre, we then issue a compendium of warnings based on the latest information available. When severe flood warnings are issued they will also be highlighted on TV broadcasts.
Find out more about Flood Warnings
There are a number of ways you find out whether your area is at risk from flooding. Both the Environment Agency (for England and Wales) and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency update their warnings 24 hours a day via the Floodline number.
Floodline - 0845 988 1188
Monthly Outlook
Monday 19 December Published at 10:00
Monthly Outlook
Summary
A mild Christmas and unsettled New Year
This week has the shortest day of the year but even as the days draw out over the next few weeks, we typically expect the temperatures to keep falling.
Our weather is bucking this trend at the moment as, after the recent cold weather, things are taking a milder turn.
Anyone hoping for a white Christmas may be disappointed!
Over the next month the south of the UK will see some quite settled weather at times, but in the north wind and rain is often on the cards.
Monday 19 December—Sunday 25 December
Mild and sometime wild
After the recent cold weather, this week brings a rather milder picture, particularly mid-week when some of us could see the dizzying heights of the early teens!
Monday starts on a chilly note with frost and ice for many places at first, particularly in southeast Scotland.
Rain and strengthening winds moving in from the west will give everyone a spell of rain during the day and bring snow to Scotland.
Tuesday looks set to be one of the quietest days of the week.
Hazy sunshine is forecast for much of the day although rain will move in later.
It should be much milder on Wednesday, however this will cause the snow across Scotland to thaw quite rapidly and could lead to some flooding problems.
Further heavy rain and strong winds could exacerbate the problem.
A damp and cloudy day in store for western areas, but drier with the odd bright spell in the east.
Thursday won't feel very wintry as the mild weather continues.
Further rain and drizzle is forecast in the west with the best of any brightness in eastern counties of England. Northwest Scotland and parts of Northern Ireland could have a rather wet day.
Temperatures take a tumble towards the end of the week as Friday brings more rain and showers. Those numbers creeping back up again by the weekend, making a white Christmas look unlikely!
Monday 26 December—Sunday 1 January
A fight starts on Boxing Day
As we head into Boxing Day we start to see a struggle between an unsettled, wet and windy set-up to the north and high pressure trying to build to the south.
So for the northern half of the UK we can expect strong or gale force winds at times and some spells of heavy or prolonged rain.
This mobile weather pattern will act to keep things mild and often hold frost at bay.
For southern areas, we have a different story with a drier and less windy outlook but with a greater risk of frost forming by night.
Monday 2 January—Sunday 15 January
New year, new weather pattern?
Little change in the weather for the northern half of the UK through the beginning of the new year.
However there will be a different outlook for the south.
The unsettled theme already dominating the north will extend across the rest of the country.
This will lead periods of wind and rain for all but with the north of the UK once again in line for the lion's share.
Snow may well feature in the forecast at times too, chiefly across northern hills.
On the whole this unsettled theme will keep the temperatures on the mild side. Some colder spells are quite likely, bringing the risk of frost and fog at times.
The east will be favoured with the best of the crisp, bright winter weather.
Next week
Statistically, January has the lowest daytime temperatures of any month but how cold will it be for the rest of January 2012?
Monthly forecasting
The weather beyond about a week ahead stretches even the most experienced weather forecaster. Complex numerical weather forecast models from the Met Office and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) are run many times for the month (and season) ahead to build up a picture of the likelihood of different weather types affecting the UK.
