A taste of spring... albeit with a chilly breeze!
Much of this week has brought some quite glorious weather for our regionÌýand there's more to come into the weekend and beyond.
With a sizeable area of high pressure locked - for now at least -Ìýin-situ to the NW of the British Isles, the prospect of any precipitation here in the West Country remains firmly surpressed for quite a number of days ahead.ÌýThe settled conditions willÌýallow some very muddy lawns, footpaths and parks a chance to dry out somewhat!
Albeit cloud cover will tend to come and go, there'll be plenty of March sunshine on offer over the coming daysÌýand indeed today's readily-clearing weather has been wonderfully picked-out in a pass by the METOP satellite at a fairly low level orbit this morning - as shown below in an image taken at 10.19amÌý(photo courtesy of ).
If you've been out and about, you'll have noticed the keen, chilly and rather gustyÌýbreeze blowing from the E/NE andÌýthis willÌýremain a (rather unwelcome, for most folk!) feature of our weather into next week, too.ÌýNonethless,Ìýas I emphasised in our TV and radio forecasts this morning, if you find somewhere sheltered from the breeze and soak-up the early March sunshine, it'll feel distinctly springlike!Ìý
My cats certainly agree... they're currently sprawled over parts of the back garden, baskingÌýlike a pride of lions (the youngest isÌýshown, right - it's her first-ever spring).
The snow threat is gone forÌýthe West CountryÌýand potentially it's vanished nowÌýuntil next winter. On current reckoning - albeit with many uncertainties at present -Ìýthe Met Office predicts the dry, settled but chilly weather to prevail until the following weekend (13/14th).
AÌýchange to more unsettled cyclonicÌýconditions is likely at some stage around the 15-17th. As this occurs, a westerly influence is expected to take over - thus returning temperatures to the average for this time of year.ÌýSo,Ìýas we eventually lose the current cold easterly flow, hopefullyÌýthe long, noteworthy winter of 2009-2010Ìýfinally takes a bow... at least for southern parts of the British Isles.ÌýÌý
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I'm Ian Fergusson, a Â鶹ԼÅÄ Weather Presenter based in the West Country. From benign anticyclones to raging supercell storms, my blog discusses all manner of weather-related issues. I also provide updated race weekend forecasts tied to our Â鶹ԼÅÄ coverage of Formula One. You can follow me on , too.
Comment number 1.
At 4th Mar 2010, BristleSi wrote:Thanks for the update Ian.
I really don't want the unsettled change to come in during the week you mention as it'll mess up my Cheltenham bets!
Plus myself and my darling wife are off to dartmouth for a few days in the 2nd half of that week. Here's hoping the wet weather holds off until w/c 22nd.
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Comment number 2.
At 6th Mar 2010, Jack Mason wrote:Hi Ian,
Im loving this settled spell of weather (thank god for high pressure systems!) but when do you think we will see some warmer weather with this sunshine?!
Jack
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Comment number 3.
At 7th Mar 2010, Swindon Queso wrote:Loving this weather, especially the clarity of the light but keep going out without my hat and getting very cold ears.
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Comment number 4.
At 17th Mar 2010, basketmaker_dave wrote:Spring has really sprung. my temp reading outside my back yard which lies in permenent shade is +17.2in stoke st gregory, unofficial of course. this with mostly cloudy conditions. basketmaker dave
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