Stanley (Durham) weather

Headline:

Cloudy with rain or showers Sunday, drier and foggy overnight.

Today:

Cloudy with widespread rain to start but turning showery and more isolated through the morning. There is still the potential for the odd heavy outbreak, particularly into the afternoon. Light winds, Maximum temperature 8 °C.

Tonight:

Any residual showers soon dying out. Variable cloud allowing mist and fog to develop widely in any breaks, especially over higher ground. Minimum temperature 4 °C.

Monday:

Cloudy with outbreaks of rain on Monday, becoming breezy during the afternoon, particularly at the coast. Maximum temperature 6 °C.

Outlook for Tuesday to Thursday:

Windy with spells of rain for Tuesday, and hill snow possible. Further rain on Wednesday, with winds easing. Thursday drier with variable cloud and light winds.

Frontal systems over the Atlantic, steered by a south-shifted jet stream, are likely to approach the UK at times, but tending to stall as they encounter a blocking area of high pressure to the north and northeast. This will result in further spells of rain at times, falling in areas already sensitive to flooding. As these bands of rain spread northwards, some snow will be possible on high ground in northern England and Scotland as they encounter colder air. A subtle shift southwards of these areas of low pressure is anticipated during the second week of February, which may allow a greater chance of colder air to spread across northern UK at least, bringing an increased risk of wintry hazards for a time.

Whilst confidence is lower through this period, a south-shifted jet stream is likely to persist much of the time, steering areas of low pressure towards and south of the UK. This is likely to bring further spells of wet and windy weather, rain most frequent in the south and west, and perhaps also eastern Scotland, with the driest conditions, relative to normal, in northwest Scotland. Some hill snow will be possible at times as the wet weather encounters colder air across northern parts of the UK. Temperatures for the period as a whole will likely be close to average in the southwest, but a little below in the northeast.