North Ronaldsay Firth (Orkney Islands) weather

Headline:

Mainly dry this morning, rain spreading east later.

Today:

This morning will be dry with some brightness. Clouding over this afternoon with rain spreading from the west later. Southerly winds freshening later this afternoon. Maximum temperature 7 °C.

Tonight:

This evening will be cloudy with persistent rain, heavy at times. Rain turning and light patchy in the early hours. Fresh to strong south to southwesterly winds this evening. Minimum temperature 6 °C.

Tuesday:

A very mild and cloudy day with outbreaks of rain and drizzle, although Orkney may see some drier spells. Strong southwesterly winds. Maximum temperature 12 °C.

Outlook for Wednesday to Friday:

Shetland cloudy with drizzly rain on Christmas Day, Orkney will be dry. Chance of some rain at times on Boxing Day and Friday, especially across Orkney.

The start of this period will be characterised by mild, cloudy conditions for most, with some drizzle in places, and more persistent rain across northwest Scotland. Many other areas are predominantly dry but rather cloudy, with the best cloud breaks likely to be found across parts of eastern Scotland and Northeastern England. Around the turn of the year, it looks more probable that colder, more showery conditions will likely make at least some ingress into northern and perhaps central areas, bringing a risk of some impacts from ice, sleet and snow. Widely mild at first, perhaps exceptionally so in some places, 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 fairly low, but overall, slowly-evolving weather patterns are more favoured. Continuing from the previous period, there remains a slightly reduced chance compared with normal of wet and windy spells, with 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.