Tomatin Distillery (Highland) weather

Headline:

Cloudy, cold, wintry showers north, east, dry, brighter west.

Today:

A colder day with further cloud and wintry showers for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross. Staying dry in the west with some bright spells at times. Occasionally strong easterly winds. Maximum temperature 3 °C.

Tonight:

Further wintry showers in the evening and overnight, mainly for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross. Staying dry around the west coast and Western Isles. Strong winds at times. Minimum temperature -1 °C.

Wednesday:

Further rain, sleet and hill snow in the morning, mainly in the east. This extending to all areas for a time in the afternoon, then becoming largely dry by evening. Maximum temperature 6 °C.

Outlook for Thursday to Saturday:

Showers in the east with sleet and snow at times, more frequent on Saturday. Mainly dry across the west. Fresh to strong southeasterly winds along exposed coasts.

Cyclonic patterns are expected to dominate across the UK during mid-February. Frontal systems over the Atlantic are likely to approach the UK at times, tending to become slow moving as they encounter a blocking area of high pressure to the northeast. This will result in showers or longer spells of rain spreading across the UK, these heavy at times. Rainfall amounts will probably be highest in parts of the west, including across areas already sensitive to flooding. As these bands of rain spread northwards, snow is possible across northern England and Scotland, mainly over high ground. Strong winds could develop in places, especially coasts. Temperatures will probably be close to normal overall, with any cold conditions more likely in the north.

Whilst confidence is inevitably low through this period, a south-shifted jet stream is likely to persist for much of the time, steering areas of low pressure towards and south of the UK. This is likely to bring further spells of wet and windy weather, with rain most frequent in the south and west, and perhaps also eastern Scotland, with the driest conditions, relative to normal, in northwest Scotland. Some hill snow will be possible at times as the wet weather encounters colder air across northern parts of the UK. There is a hint that storm systems may start to track a little further north by March though. Temperatures overall will likely be close to average for most parts, but perhaps a little below in the northeast at first.