Rawtenstall (Lancashire) weather

Headline:

Staying very windy today with showers, these wintry at first.

Today:

Another very windy day with severe gales possible in coastal areas, perhaps bringing some travel disruption in places. Sunny intervals and showers, these frequent in places and wintry during this morning. Feeling very cold in the wind. Maximum temperature 6 °C.

Tonight:

Turning increasingly dry overnight but showers may continue to affect Merseyside at times. Strong northwesterly winds, gradually easing later. Becoming cold with clearing skies allowing a slight rural frost inland. Minimum temperature 1 °C.

Monday:

Cold with some sunshine during the morning. Staying generally dry through the afternoon but turning cloudier with some rain by early evening. Much lighter winds than over the weekend. Chilly. Maximum temperature 7 °C.

Outlook for Tuesday to Thursday:

Turning very mild by Christmas Eve and staying mild over the festive period. Generally dull at first with some drizzle in places but otherwise mainly dry with brighter breaks possible.

Boxing Day weather will be characterised by mild, cloudy conditions for most, with bits of drizzle in places and perhaps some more persistent rain in northwest Scotland. This sets the scene for the next few days too, with an area of high pressure becoming established across much of the UK, probably centred over or just to the south of England. The highest chance of rain and strong winds will be in northwest Scotland, with many other areas predominantly dry but rather cloudy, although more settled conditions may well extend to the northwest at times too. Widely mild at first, perhaps exceptionally so in some places early on, but temperatures probably return to nearer normal by early January. Throughout, any clearer spells overnight may lead to localised frost and fog.

Confidence in this period is low, but overall slowly-evolving weather patterns are more favoured. Overall, there is a slightly reduced chance compared with normal of wet and windy spells, with instead a slightly greater potential for colder episodes during the first half of January. While drier than average conditions are likely for many areas, some precipitation is still expected, which could lead to wintry hazards at times. Temperatures are likely to be close to or a little above normal overall, but this could be made up of a mix of milder and colder interludes.