Wide Firth (Orkney Islands) weather

Headline:

Showery, windy Thursday morning. Becoming drier in afternoon, winds easing.

This Evening and Tonight:

Drier conditions, with the odd shower spreading to Orkney this evening and to Shetland towards midnight. These showers merge into longer periods of rain towards morning. Southerly winds becoming strong. Minimum temperature 10 °C.

Thursday:

Cloudy with showery rain in morning, then Orkney becomes drier by afternoon with the occasional shower. Shetland improving during afternoon. Strong to gale force southwest winds easing during evening. Maximum temperature 14 °C.

Outlook for Friday to Sunday:

Mostly dry Orkney, outbreaks rain Shetland Friday. Drier with bright spells and the occasional shower Saturday and Sunday.

Into next week, a northwest-southeast split is most likely. The best of drier spells will be in the north and northwest where some fog and frost patches are possible, but there will be spells or rain or showers in south and eastern areas, near to an area of low pressure. It will also turn colder, as a northerly flow becomes established for a time. Later in the week, more widely drier and settled conditions could develop as high pressure becomes more influential, although probably still with some coastal showers. Temperatures should gradually return closer to average in this period. Later in the period there may be a return to a more changeable pattern but this is uncertain.

By the beginning of October, confidence is very low in the weather regimes most likely to affect the UK. On balance, there will likely be a transition from slow-moving weather patterns to a more changeable period at some stage although the timing on this is highly uncertain. High pressure probably close to the UK, which would offer some occasional periods of dry weather, will likely give way to a more unsettled period with some short lived dry interludes during this time. Temperatures will likely fluctuate either side of, but often close to, average.