Britain Set For Wetter And Windier Winter

Sky News UK Weather Update

Storm fronts from the Atlantic are likely to see the country battered by even worse weather than normal over the coming months.

The UK is expected to endure an unusually wet and windy winter, the Met Office has warned.

The national weather service's latest winter outlook says the country should brace itself for frequently blustery conditions and heavy downpours over the coming months.

It said that after the remnants of Hurricane Gonzalo battered much of the UK last month, more weather fronts heading in from the Atlantic suggested further disruption ahead.

A Met Office statement said: "The outlook suggests the continuing risk of our weather coming in from the Atlantic, which brings unsettled conditions, during the first part of the three-month period."

And it suggested that while the existing conditions were standard for this time of year, the outlook for November to January indicated "spells of wet and windy weather may be more frequent than is typical".

The country endured strong winds and heavy rainfall last winter

But despite the gloomy prediction, temperatures are expected to continue to be milder than average until a predicted increase in cold snaps arrives in the new year.

The statement said: "As the outlook covers the transition from autumn into winter, there can be big changes in how UK weather is influenced by prevailing weather patterns during the period."

Confidence in how the weather patterns could develop later in the season falls, which the outlook acknowledges, stating "the risk of occasional colder outbreaks increases later in the period".

In the nearer future, Met Office experts say gales and swathes of rain will hit next week and persist into December.

A forecast until 8 December said: "Bands of more persistent rain may spread in from the West at times but eastern parts should see the driest interludes.

"Windy, with gales possible in places, and temperatures mainly near normal. Into the following week, there are indications of a gradual trend for heavier and more persistent spells of rain to affect eastern Britain.

"Current indications show that low pressure is likely to be located to the west of the UK, and as such the most likely scenario is for unsettled weather to continue in most places as we head into December."

Source- Sky News