Rainy spells, fewer wind storms to dominate UK for remainder of January

By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist

January 7,2016; 7:22PM,EST

 

 

The United Kingdom will remain unsettled with rainy spells into the end of the month, but a repeat of the frequent onslaught of flooding rain and strong winds from December is not expected.
Rounds of rain, heavy enough at times to cause flooding issues, and strong winds have been hitting the British Isles over the past few weeks.
Neither a prolonged stretch of dry weather nor a persistent bout of powerful storms is in sight.

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While it is not out of the question for a storm or two to cross the British Isles with heavy rain and strong winds later in January, the overall pattern will instead favor more scattered showers and less wind than frequent heavy rain and storms with wind as strong as Storm Eva or Storm Frank.
A break from the persistent heavy rain will give swollen or flooded rivers time to recede. Most of the rain that will fall during the rest of the month should not be enough to renew or worsen the flooding situation significantly.
That will be the case into this weekend. Any flooding downpours will be isolated despite rainy spells spreading across the British Isles. The wet weather will largely cause residents to grab an umbrella before heading outdoors and will be an unwelcome sight to flood-weary areas.

The wettest day of the weekend for London and the rest of the south of England will be on Saturday. Aside from a shower or two near the western coast, "England for the most part will be dry on Sunday," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Steve Travis.
A bit of snow can initially whiten the Pennines on Friday. Following what fell on Thursday, more substantial snow will develop across the Scottish Highlands as the weekend progresses.
"It's normal for the U.K. to get persistent rain throughout much of the winter," AccuWeather Meteorologist Tyler Roys said. January is also typically a windy time of year.
The middle of January will also differ from December in terms of temperatures.
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"It looks like a flow from the northwest could bring a shot of chilly air to the British Isles [during the weekend of Jan. 16-17]," stated AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jason Nicholls.
In the days leading up to that weekend, cooler air will gradually begin to spill across the U.K. next week with temperatures returning to near- to slightly below-normal values.
The colder air will lead to more opportunities for snow showers in the Scottish Highlands and the higher terrain in the north of England. Standing water in some flood-weary areas could freeze.
"The cold, however, will be short-lived as late in the month, it will turn milder again," said Nicholls.
Content contributed by AccuWeather Meteorologist Courtney Spamer.