Fairly cold with some rain for a couple more days, milder and mostly dry from Sunday.

Thanks to Tracy for the photograph.

This evening will be cloudy as a developing band of rain crosses from the west, some heavy bursts mixed in. Clearing around 2am, with clear skies by around dawn. Milder during the rain, down to around 3’C by dawn.

For Friday we’ll be in a fairly cold north-westerly flow, with low pressure to our east.

It will be mostly sunny, some bits of cloud at times but a pleasant, if fairly cold day. 6’C and quite windy. Clear skies overnight, down to around 0’C with a frost in places – the wind becoming more of a breeze.

Saturday starts bright with hazy sunshine. A weather front will cross during the afternoon bringing showery rain – some heavy bursts possible, particularly late afternoon/early evening. 6’C and breezy. The weather front hangs around in the evening and overnight – some rain at times, but some lengthy dry spells too. Becoming mild, up to 11’C.

Sunday looks mostly cloudy. Some bits of light rain still possible, more likely in the morning. There should be some sunny breaks in the afternoon, though still mostly cloudy. Mild, 13’C. Mostly cloudy overnight, 11’C.

Monday looks mostly cloudy. A weather front stuck to our west may make some inroads bringing a little patchy rain – but more likely it stays dry. 11’C. That weather front slowly crossing in the evening and overnight, bringing a bit of showery rain, 9’C.

Tuesday looks mostly cloudy, again. The cloud perhaps thinning for a time in the afternoon, though uncertain at this stage. Around 10’C. Probably cloudy overnight.

Wednesday is quite uncertain – it could be cloudy and dry, it could be cloudy with some rain, or it could be sunny.

The reason for this uncertainty is that high pressure will build from the south either Wednesday or Thursday.

Were it summer, it would be pretty glorious and hot – almost the perfect pressure pattern.

Alas it is December.

So Thursday onwards will be dry, but at the moment I’m unsure whether it will be a cloudy high, and therefore on the mild side, or a sunny high with temperatures closer to normal, but with risks of fog/frost.

For Christmas week, by far the most likely outcome is that high pressure remains close by and we’ll remain dry, or mostly so. Uncertain at this stage if we stay mildish or become colder once more – the latter would give a chance of wintry showers so a White Christmas cannot be ruled out, though a dry Christmas is far more likely.

Certainly a good chance of at least a short cold spell with wintry showers at some point in the last 10 or so days of December, and into the first week of January.