Kirkwall Airport (Orkney Islands) weather

Headline:

Bright spells in the morning, rain extending northeast later.

Today:

Bright but with a few showery outbreaks of rain at first. Turning cloudier later in the afternoon with occasionally heavy rain spreading across from the southwest towards evening. Maximum temperature 15 °C.

Tonight:

Heavy rain spreads northeast through the evening and quite windy for a time. Clear spells and scattered heavy showers following overnight. Minimum temperature 10 °C.

Saturday:

Bright spells and scattered showers in the morning. Cloudier through the afternoon with rain turning more persistent and strengthening southwest winds. Maximum temperature 13 °C.

Outlook for Sunday to Tuesday:

Southwesterly winds persist through Sunday and Monday and bring largely cloudy skies with outbreaks of rain and drizzle at times. Bright spells and scattered blustery showers on Tuesday.

A band of cloud and increasingly patchy rain will likely come south early in the period with a ridge of high pressure then bringing a spell of mostly dry and fresher conditions, some chilly nights possible. Broadly changeable weather patterns look to continue through to the middle of October with areas of low pressure most likely to pass to the northwest of the UK with higher pressure across the south. So further rain and strong winds at times, mainly focused across the northwest, while southern areas see more in the way of dry weather. Temperatures close to or rather above average on the whole, but still scope for some unseasonably warm weather across the south.

The second half of October will probably maintain a changeable pattern overall with showers or longer spells of rain often moving in from the Atlantic. This means the wettest and at times windiest weather is more likely in the west and northwest, and relatively drier conditions more likely towards the south and east. With a westerly type considered most likely, this would support temperatures remaining close to or a little above average overall. However, there is a chance that more slowly evolving weather patterns develop, which could either lead to longer drier spells more widely or rainfall accumulating in climatologically drier areas.