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Tuesday begins mostly dry but in the far north west of the UK there are light outbreaks of rain. Through the day winds strengthen in Scotland and heavier rain pushes into the west and north. Elsewhere there will be a good deal of dry weather but a few spots of rain are possible in the west. The south has some brighter spells but there will be a lot of cloud cover generally. 

Maximum temperatures range from 7C (45F) to 10C (50F). See the rainfall and precipitation type radar for the latest view.

Tonight wet weather affects much of Scotland and some patchy outbreaks of rain push into the west. Central and eastern areas have a dry night and cloud breaks in the south could make it chilly.

Tomorrow low pressure tracks northeastwards and its associated weather fronts push eastwards bringing wet conditions to Northern Ireland and western Britain. The east probably remains dry. It will be very windy with gales in much of the north and west.

During Thursday the wet weather gradually clears away southeastwards and much colder air follows on from the north. In northern regions heavy wintry showers develop and they increasingly turn to snow.

Friday and the weekend

Friday and Saturday are expected to be cold with snow showers in northern and coastal regions. The showers may become more widespread at times and accumulations of snow at low levels are possible. By Sunday the showers probably will be more scattered with most places having a dry day. There is a low risk of a period of rain, sleet and snow moving across the southern half of the UK but at the moment that is very uncertain.

The forecast chart below shows forecast temperatures at about 1500m above sea level on Saturday afternoon. The blues and purples indicate a very cold air mass.

GFS 00z, 05th Dec, 850hPa temperatures 15:00GMT Sat 9th December

Cold and changeable outlook

Next week a continuation of the cold theme is the favoured outcome. Disturbances are expected to move in from the Atlantic and bring a risk of rain, sleet and snow at times. Embedded milder air means their exact track will be crucial to determining the weather that different parts of the UK experiences. In general terms milder air is more likely to return to southern and central areas increasing the risk of precipitation falling as rain rather than snow. 

GFS 00z, 05th Dec, precipitation 06:00GMT Sun 10th Dec

A colder winter on the way?

The TWO winter forecast has been issued and suggests a colder and drier than average season. This year it has been particularly difficult to reach a conclusion. Buzz looks at the medium term. TWO's fourth winter discussion update has been issued. The winter forecast covering December, January and February will be issued this week.

Christmas countdown

TWO's annual Christmas Countdown continues.

16 day GEFS ensembles at a glance

After a mild start much colder conditions return by December 8th. Towards the middle of the month a range of outcomes are on offer but most show temperature gradually recovering towards the seasonal norm. View latest GEFS.