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Storm Barbara inbound

[Updated 08:00 22/12/2016]

Thursday is off to a dry and chilly start across the southern half of the country but in the north it's a windy and showery picture. In the north west the showers are heavy and prolonged.

Through the day blustery showers affect northern and western regions, and in the north they will be wintry at times. Central and eastern England have a mainly dry day with sunny spells.

Maximum temperatures range from about 4C (39F) in Scotland to to 10C (50F) in the south west. See the rainfall radar for the latest view.

Tonight cloud increases in the north west and and winds strengthen. Elsewhere it stays dry and it will be quite chilly.

Tomorrow high impact weather is expected as Storm Barbara tracks to the northwest of Scotland. In the far north wind gusts of up to 90mph are possible and gales are set to affect much of the country. A band of heavy rain pushing southeastwards through the day is likely to add to the problems on the roads.

During Christmas Eve windy and showery conditions continue in the north but in the south and east it should be mostly dry and quite mild. Christmas Day itself is expected to be very windy and a cold front slowly pushing southeastwards will bring heavy outbreaks of rain. Ahead of this it will be very mild and there is an outside chance of this being the warmest Christmas on record. Buzz looks at the storm risk. To keep up to date with the latest view for the big day check our Christmas Countdown which is updated daily.

Ensembles at a glance

The 16 day GEFS ensemble show the weather turning unsettled in the short term but after Boxing Day drier conditions return. The possibility of it turning colder conditions is shown.