Highlands & Eilean Siar

Headline:

Rain spreading east on Friday afternoon.

This Evening and Tonight:

Showery rain spreads into the west this evening, extending northeast overnight, though much of the Moray Firth coast likely remaining dry. Southerly winds strengthening, risk of coastal gales in the west. Minimum temperature 9 °C.

Friday:

Bright spells and showers at first. Turning cloudier with rain spreading northeast during the afternoon, occasionally heavy for a time. Rather windy. Maximum temperature 16 °C.

Outlook for Saturday to Monday:

Southwesterly winds persist through this period and bring largely cloudy skies with rain or showers, but generally drier and brighter around the Moray Firth.

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.