Slieve Bearnagh (County Down) weather

Headline:

Some wintry, blustery showers Monday morning. Mostly dry, bright later.

Today:

Another cold day with sleet and snow showers, again fresh accumulations mainly over northern high ground, but showers becoming isolated later with sunny spells. Frost and ice by the evening. Maximum temperature 3 °C.

Tonight:

A dry evening with clear spells and sharp frost. Then clouding over at times overnightwith a few light showers, snow becoming confined to the hills. Minimum temperature -3 °C.

Tuesday:

A mainly dry bright morning then cloudy in the afternoon with outbreaks of rain, snow confined to hills. Some thaw at low levels. Breezy. Maximum temperature 5 °C.

Outlook for Wednesday to Friday:

Wednesday mostly dry then some light rain in evening. Mostly dry with some sunshine on Thursday then showers on Friday.

A changeable period is expected, with Atlantic frontal systems occasionally affecting the UK, bringing spells of rain, probably preceded by snow in some areas, this more likely in northern and eastern parts. Some significant snowfall is possible in places, particularly on northern hills. These low pressure systems could also bring some strong winds. These will be interspersed with quieter, drier interludes under transient ridges of high pressure, with the potential for frost, and wintry showers along coasts exposed to northerly winds. After a cold start, temperatures will tend to trend closer to average, especially in the south, such that the frequency of wintry hazards may reduce slightly. However, there is a hint late in this period that it may briefly turn more widely drier and colder again.

The outlook through the latter part of January and into the start of February is very uncertain, with no strong indication for any particular weather pattern to dominate. However, a broadly westerly regime seems more likely than not. As such, conditions are most likely to be changeable. Spells of wet, windy and mild weather are likely at times, along with some colder, drier interludes with overnight frost and fog. There is a hint that this period may start off largely dry and cold though. Snow and ice remain possible, especially in central and northern parts of the UK, but the chance of these is generally lower than earlier in January.