Does history give any clues as to how long the continental high pressure can affect our weather?

High pressure once established can control the weather in the UK for long periods of time. The severe winter of 1963 was brought about by persistent high pressure areas to the north of the UK feeding in bitterly cold air originating from Siberia. This weather pattern persisted almost uninterrupted from Boxing Day 1962, until March 1963. In summer, high pressure areas tend to bring warm and sunny weather. The weather during the summers of 1976, 1995, and 2003 was often controlled by high pressure bringing several months of mainly fine weather.