Aviemore (Highland) weather

Headline:

Mostly cloudy, some showers in east, but brighter in west.

Today:

Mainly dry in the northwest with some sunny spells over Skye, Lewis and the west coast of the mainland. Cloudier further east with some showers especially over over Caithness and Sutherland. Southern Isles turning damp later. Fairly strong easterly winds. Maximum temperature 6 °C.

Tonight:

Mainly cloudy. Further mainly light rain in east, though a little heavier over Caithness and East Sutherland. Drier in west with only a few patches of light rain. Minimum temperature 3 °C.

Saturday:

Mainly cloudy, occasional light rain in the east. The west mainly dry with a few sunny intervals breaking through. Lighter winds. Maximum temperature 7 °C.

Outlook for Sunday to Tuesday:

Sunday cloudy, some rain, but Isles may brighten later. Monday cloudy, damp in east, bright in west. Tuesday cold, strong easterly winds, a few snow showers in east.

Frontal systems over the North 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.

Something of a north-south split seems quite likely at first, with low pressure to the south and high pressure to the north, before a potential change back to more of a southwest-northeast split. With the jet stream likely further south than normal, the wettest conditions are more likely towards the south. Northwestern parts of the UK are most likely to be drier than normal. Whilst incursions of wet, windy and milder weather are favoured at times in the south and later the west, colder conditions further north will bring an increased risk of wintry hazards, especially where any precipitation from the southwest interacts with the cold air. The colder conditions may affect all parts at times, more especially early in this period.