Slieve Muck (County Down) weather

Headline:

Dry. Dull start, bright spells later

Today:

Fog patches slowly lifting through the morning. Otherwise a dry day with some bright or sunny spells but a fair amount of high cloud. Light winds. Maximum temperature 9 °C.

Tonight:

Largely dry but quite cloudy through the evening, some showers pushing in the west. Largely dry through the night, but the odd shower may persist. Minimum temperature 1 °C.

Tuesday:

Mainly dry with some bright or sunny spells, before a few showers push into the west later. Maximum temperature 8 °C.

Outlook for Wednesday to Friday:

Bright spells and some showers on Wednesday. Rain spreading east on Thursday. Rain clearing to showers on Friday and becoming very windy.

The change to much more unsettled conditions will begin on Friday as a deep area of low pressure, which is yet to develop, will be steered towards the UK on a powerful Jet Stream - fuelled by the recent cold spell over North America. A wet and windy few days are likely, with some snow in the north for a time, and then a continuation of these periods of rain followed by showers, often accompanied by strong winds, looks likely for the rest of the month and the start of February. There is the potential for weather warnings or even a named storm at some point. Temperatures at least should recover in most places, ending up a little above average, though admittedly not feeling like it at times.

The start of February is likely to continue on an unsettled and relatively mild theme, with periods of rain, showers and strong winds, alternating in most parts with short-lived brighter and cooler interludes. Pressure may build across southern areas towards mid-month, which would result in longer drier and more-settled spells here, albeit with an increased chance of overnight fog and frost.