Weather and climate change

Headline:

Turning much colder with widespread frost. Some snow and ice.

This Evening and Tonight:

A band of cloud with showery rain and some hill snow will move southwards across the northern half of the UK overnight. Wintry showers with gales follow here. To the south there will be a frost with early fog patches.

Thursday:

Snow showers with gales across the far north and northeast. Patchy rain and hill snow clearing further south. Otherwise sunny periods. Some wintry showers in the west. A cold wind.

Outlook for Friday to Sunday:

Snow early on Friday in the south and west. Wintry showers affecting areas exposed to the northerly winds. Otherwise often sunny. Cold, and windy at first. Overnight frost and ice.

Updated: 16:00 (UTC) on Wed 31 Dec 2025

Cold northerly winds dominant across the UK in the first week of January bring wintry showers (often of snow) to many coastlines (and areas just inland of these) that are exposed to onshore winds. Into the new week more coherent bands of precipitation and thicker cloud will attempt to move in from the west, with a risk of further snow on the leading edge of these turning to rain. Confidence is low in the rate of this return to a more mild Atlantic flow, with a risk of further artic airflows following fronts to resume wintry showers, especially across northern areas of the UK. Temperatures recovering to just below average for most, though further north more likely to return cold at times.

Updated: 14:00 (UTC) on Wed 31 Dec 2025

Whilst confidence in details is low, by the start of this period the transition back to westerly winds bringing Atlantic weather systems into the UK is expected to be complete, with temperatures most likely recovering to around or just below average. There is perhaps a weak signal for slowly evolving weather patterns to be more favoured than normal, such patterns increase the chances of frost and fog above normal by night.

Updated: 15:00 (UTC) on Wed 31 Dec 2025