Weather and climate change

Headline:

Cold with widespread frost, and some snow and ice.

Today:

Heavy snow showers across northern and northeast Scotland today. Rain and snow clearing further south, leaving sunny skies. Some wintry showers in the west and extreme east. Otherwise fine and dry, but feeling cold in the brisk northerly wind.

Tonight:

Frequent snow showers continue to affect areas exposed to the keen northerly wind, otherwise dry with long clear spells. Colder than recent nights with a hard frost developing.

Saturday:

A cold and frosty start for all on Saturday. Snow showers continue across windward coasts, further spells of prolonged snow likely across parts of northeast Scotland. Feeling very cold.

Outlook for Sunday to Tuesday:

Plenty of sunshine through the period, though sleet and snow showers especially affecting areas exposed to the northerly wind. Remaining cold throughout with widespread night frosts. Showers easing from Monday.

Updated: 04:00 (UTC) on Fri 2 Jan 2026

The recent spell of cold, northerly winds should begin to ease by the middle of next week, with snow showers in the north and east becoming lighter and less frequent. However, bands of rain seem likely to gradually move in off the Atlantic and, as these encounter the cold air entrenched over the UK, some further snowfall is possible, particularly in central and eastern areas, with rain more likely in the west. From next weekend, the outlook becomes more uncertain. Most likely is that conditions will be less cold than recently, but there remains potential for further spells of snow, especially in northern and central areas. Further south and west, some milder interludes are possible, with the chance of some heavier rain and stronger winds at times.

Updated: 14:00 (UTC) on Fri 2 Jan 2026

The outlook through the second half of January is very uncertain, with no strong indication for any particular weather pattern to dominate. As such, conditions are most likely to be changeable. Spells of wet, windy and mild weather are possible at times, along with colder, drier interludes with overnight frost and fog. Snow and ice remain possible, especially in central and northern parts of the UK, but the chance of these is lower than earlier in the month.

Updated: 15:00 (UTC) on Fri 2 Jan 2026