Cool temperatures this week and loads of rain from Storm Conall will soon turn into warmer weather, with temperatures of up to 14C.
As Brits we’re no strangers to a bout of bad weather, but following an unseasonably wet summer and what looks to be a similar downtrodden winter, the question on everybody’s minds is a simple one.
Why is the weather in the UK so up and down at the moment?
Metro found out what could be behind one of the UK’s wettest years in recent memory – and the major changes in the weather day to day.
The upcoming weekend will see temperatures reach a rather balmy 14C in some areas. Exeter will see temperatures of 15C.
Sadly for us, temperatures will dip yet again by the middle of next week to 4C – but the reason behind the ups and downs in the weather is rather simple.
The weather systems affecting the UK
The warmer temperatures this weekend are caused by a warm front moving east across the British Isles.
A cold weather system has been near the UK in recent days, which brought some of the terrible weather we saw from Storms Bert and Connal.
Now, the cold air is being replaced with ‘hotter’ weather.
But the warm weather isn’t here to stay – temperatures will dip again next week to near freezing.
The Met Office said: ‘Saturday to Monday will be generally cloudier but milder during the weekend, with rain at times.
‘Often windy across the west and the north. Temperatures begin to fall again come Monday with sunny spells.’
What has been behind the wet weather?
Last winter was the eighth wettest in 150 years – and this winter is looking like it will be similar.
The simple answer as to why we’ve had such wet weather is because warmer temperatures are able to hold more water.
The Week reported: ‘For every degree of warming, the amount of water vapour in the atmosphere increases by around 7%, which fuels “more intense rainfall”.’
The downpours commuters had to navigate earlier today could be in relation to the jet stream, a band of strong westerly winds circling around five to seven miles above the Earth’s surface.
The one which affects us most is the polar jet stream, and it helps to give the UK its generally temperate climate, containing the cold air above the Arctic.
It slams into the UK in the winter, leading to rainier weather. If global warming continues as is, it’s likely the jet stream could lead to even wetter winters – but drier summers.
What will December weather look like?
The Met Office forecast for early December appears to show ‘unsettled’ weather, meaning wind in the north and dry, cool conditions.
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There are chances of some windy storms and rain but, in typical British fashion, it will be chilly.
The Met Office said mid to late December will be ‘less settled’.
‘These will bring some wetter and windier spells with a risk of some snow, especially for hills in the north,’ they said.
‘These conditions may prevail into late December, although drier, more settled spells may also affect the UK at times, these probably more likely towards the south. Temperatures generally close to average through the period.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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