Increasingly mild air is pushing up from the south during the next 36 hours or so as southerly winds dominate ahead of Storm Kathleen sweeping in tomorrow. Kathleen has been named by the Irish Met Office as the impacts are expected to be greatest here, but it will be a windy couple of days for most regions.
Friday dawns cloudy and damp in many regions as outbreaks of rain continue to push north and east across many areas, the rain locally heavy at times and falling as snow over higher parts of Scotland where some significant accumulations are occurring over around 400 metres or so. Somewhat drier and clearer conditions are now starting to arrive across the southwest and these will extend to many regions as we go through the day although further showers are likely to break out for a time. It remains rather dull and wet for much of central and southern Scotland along with Northern Ireland though as the rain becomes slow-moving here due to the cold air to the north putting up some resistance. So the far north will be bright with a few scattered showers but temperatures of only 5°C or 6°C whereas for brighter parts of the south it will feel warmer in the sunny spells this afternoon with highs of 16°C to 18°C.
Attention then turns to Storm Kathleen as she moves in from the southwest this evening tonight bringing strengthening winds and more heavy rain, especially to the west. The heavier rain will tend to become confined to more northern regions by the end of the night with very mild southerlies following. Winds will really strengthen across Ireland later in the night and into tomorrow with severe gales gusting to over 70 MPH in exposed spots but it will become windy everywhere. Rain will continue to affect the north and west, becoming more showery during the day, but for many southern and eastern regions it will be bright and warm with temperatures reaching over 20°C in some places.
METEOROLOGIST : BARBER
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