Wales Feed

Sunshine or showers? Will it be a warmer weekend?

2016-05-26T08:57:17+00:00

Pen yr Ole Wen, Snowdonia taken by Kris Williams

The weather is looking pretty promising over the bank holiday weekend. It won't be a totally dry story but plenty of useful weather to look forward to.

The pressure chart for Friday is showing low pressure to the south and high pressure to the north. A weather trough will bring some heavy and thundery showers across the south and west. North Wales can enjoy drier and brighter conditions. The temperatures should reach a high of 20°C.

Met Office pressure chart for Friday 27 May

Saturday will be a warm day with plenty of sunshine on offer, however the heat will trigger a few sharp showers. If you can dodge those showers it'll be a very nice day with light and variable winds. We can look forward to a decent day on Sunday too with fewer showers with the best of the sunshine in the west.

The rain should hold off for much of bank holiday Monday too but by the evening we can expect wet and windy weather to spill in from the east.

Tenby, taken by Alex Harrison

So a fair weekend ahead, do enjoy it but pack a mac and sunscreen if you are heading out. If you are a BBC Weather Watcher this weekend should be a good weekend to take some dramatic shots.

Penarth, taken by Weather Watcher Ferguslgn

Will it be a week of winter sun?

2016-02-22T16:06:35+00:00

Snowdon by Simon Galston

It looks like the rest of February is going to be cold but mostly dry and bright, which is great news as we've had so much rain already this winter.

Monday is a transitional day which will see the cloud and rain pushed away, and colder, clearer air will follow on from the north-west. Monday night will be cold with a few coastal showers and widespread frost. Temperatures will see a low of 1°C.

Met Office pressure chart for Tuesday 23 February

It will be a cold and frosty start to Tuesday but it should also be a lovely and crisp day with sunshine for all of us with colder air dragged in from the north. Thanks to high pressure, there should be a lot of dry weather with light winds and highs of 5-7°C.

Starlings at sunset by Karen Burns

The rest of the week will be cold and dry by day with overnight frost. I can't rule out the odd wintry shower but it should stay mostly on the hills. Conditions will be cloudier, breezier conditions as the week goes on with some rain on Friday.

Llangennith beach by Georgina Harper

A stormy start to February, as the weather chops and changes

2016-02-02T10:12:15+00:00

Another unsettled week ahead with low pressure bringing strong winds and some rain at times. The temperatures will vary from day to day with some cold days but nothing out of the ordinary. There are early indications of more stormy weather for the weekend…

Storm Henry - Met Office Pressure Chart

After a stormy start to the week, Tuesday looks slightly less windy in the north but still pretty blustery with a few scattered but heavy showers. Further south, most places will be dry and bright, although it will be cold and windy on the coast.

The wind will start to ease during Tuesday afternoon but it will remain breezy. Temperatures will be a bit more seasonal, around 5°C to 8°C, with a wind from the west.

Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning showers will clear. It will be dry for a while before rain spreads into north and mid Wales after midnight. In the north, winds and gales will be stronger, with some snow likely on higher ground.

Barmouth - Alan Ewart

Wintry showers and rain will grace much of Wales on Wednesday. Eventually winds will ease, with some dry weather and sunshine. On Wednesday night into Thursday it will all change again, as rain is followed by milder, damp conditions.

Temperatures on Thursday are back above average with south-westerly winds.
Nonetheless, the weather will continue to chop and change over the next few days before an unsettled weekend.

Wet and windy: A wintry week ahead!

2016-01-25T13:52:27+00:00

Last week it was like winter with some snow, frost and ice! Near Tirabad in Powys the temperature dropped as low as -7 °C and even in Cardiff -5°C was recorded. Since then it has turned much milder again with south to south-westerly winds bringing air to us from the Canaries. Hawarden in Flintshire recorded a spring-like 15.5°C yesterday, not quite a record for January but warmer than Rome!

Snowdonia taken by Rory Trappe

On the other side of the pond, north east America has been hit by a severe winter storm recently bringing heavy snow and blizzards!

Some people say that we often get the same weather here in about a fortnight’s time but that is not necessarily true. The low pressure that brought the heavy snow to Washington DC and New York is now over the Atlantic moving northeast on the Jet Stream towards the UK. By midday Tuesday low pressure will be centred to the north west of Scotland bringing not snow, but wet and windy conditions to the UK.

Met Office weather chart for Tuesday 26 January

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning of heavy rain on Tuesday and into Wednesday with a risk of flooding in places. The rain will be accompanied by strong to gale force winds so expect poor travelling conditions.

Wednesday morning will be very windy with gales easing during the afternoon. The rain will clear followed by drier, brighter weather and one or two showers. It will turn colder with the wind veering west to north-westerly.

On Thursday we should see a dry, bright start to the day. It will be chilly with ground frost in places. We will see some sunshine for a time, but the wind will back south-westerly again during the day and increase with more rain arriving later in the afternoon and evening.

Friday will be milder, but windy with strong to gale force winds and a warning of more heavy rain.

Blackbird in the rain taken by Clive Brown

It looks like the weekend will start wet and very windy with strong gales! On Saturday we should see drier, brighter and colder conditions with a few wintry showers and some sunshine. It looks like the cold snap will be brief with milder south-westerly winds returning during Sunday.

Sleet and snow! But is the cold spell set to end?

2016-01-18T12:26:11+00:00

Some parts of Wales have had snow recently but others have had just rain or sleet, and snow can be hard to predict!

Snow, sleet or rain? Whether it comes in autumn, winter or spring, snow is always difficult to pinpoint as BBC Weather's Louise Lear explains.

Blaenavon in the snow by Steve Liptrot Photography

Over the next few days, it’s going to stay on the cold side with high pressure bringing dry, more settled weather midweek. There should be some blue sky and sunshine on Tuesday and Wednesday with widespread frosts and icy patches, freezing fog is possible in places as well.

Met Office Weather chart for Wednesday 20 January

On Thursday mist and fog patches will slowly lift leaving a cloudier day but mostly dry with a little sunshine in the north.

Friday will bring a change, the high pressure will move away and it will turn milder and windier with some rain clearing to showers.

Snowy sunrise over Cribyn by Alyn Wallace

So the current cold spell looks like coming to an end later this week; temperatures on Friday reaching 9 to 12°C with south to south-westerly winds bringing milder air in from the Atlantic.

Further ahead, temperatures are expected to remain close to average for the rest of the month and into the start of February.

Winter has well and truly arrived!

2016-01-14T14:59:25+00:00

Finally the weather looks and feels more like winter. Some of us have even had snow and problems with ice. The good news is that the weekend certainly looks dry and sunny. Our weather watcher Mike Cadoxton sent this lovely image of snow on the mountains in Neath.

Friday morning will start off bitterly cold with the risk of snow showers and ice. The met office has issued a yellow be aware warning so you will need to take care first thing in the morning especially on untreated surfaces.

Wintry showers will ease as we move into Friday afternoon. Then a better chance of something brighter but it will feel raw in the brisk north westerly winds. Highs of 4-6°C but it will feel colder than that if you factor in the bitter wind chill!

Pressure will rise through the weekend, with that we can look forward to a lot of dry and bright conditions. We will have nice, crisp winter days with light winds. The only downside is that as soon as the sun sets it will become bitterly cold with severe frost across much of Wales. We could also see patches of freezing fog in one or two spots.

With bitterly cold nights and sharp icy mornings over the next few days be sure to wrap up warm. Owain Wyn Evans has this handy guide to winter-proof your car, so if you're out and about, drive safely!

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By the middle of next week, we should start to see the return of milder weather again, but for the time being wrap up warm and enjoy the winter sunshine!

A fresh and frosty week but not as wet!

2016-01-11T10:38:01+00:00

Nant Ffrancon, Snowdonia taken by Einir Leigh

Finally we get a rest from the very wet weather as we go into a northerly airflow. Overall it looks to be a drier week, as low pressure gives way to a ridge of high pressure later on in the week. It will feel a lot colder this week as strong north westerly winds take charge. I can’t promise a totally dry story either as we will see some wintry showers with widespread frost. There is also more chance of seeing some brightness but It's certainly time to wrap up this week!

Pressure chart for Wednesday 13 January

Monday is a transitional day between the milder and colder conditions. We will see some scattered showers for the afternoon mixed with brighter sunny spells. The winds will be light and variable with highs of 5-8°C. On Monday night the winds flip round to a north westerly and become stronger with gales possible along the north-west coast. The wind should stop widespread frost from forming in most places, but in sheltered areas in the east we could see a touch of frost.

Weather chart for Tuesday 12 January

On Tuesday we'll start to feel the cold weather kicking in. Strong to gale force winds are especially likely for exposed areas in the north-west. The wind will at least take the edge off the colder temperatures. We do also have more showers to come which again could be heavy and wintry. Pembrokeshire right across to Newport should escape the worst of the showers.

It will feel even colder by Wednesday, which will see a crisp and bright start to the day. Showers forming in the west will spread across the country, these yet again, could be wintry even at lower levels. Overnight we should see a band of rain, sleet and snow spreading across the country. However, this should move through pretty quickly and not cause too many problems.

The cold theme will continue for the rest of the week and by the weekend it will feel bitterly cold, although there is a higher chance of some drier and brighter weather.

Photograph taken by John Davies

New Year but same old weather!

2016-01-05T10:01:19+00:00

December 2015 was the mildest and wettest December since records began in 1910. Not that this took us by surprise considering the amount of rain and all the flooding. We could certainly do with a few days of dry weather, but there is little sign of that!

Tudur Davies kindly sent this picture of a tree on the River Clwyd: "A number of mature trees have been weakened by the continuous wind and rain and as a result they have fallen into the Clwyd, which has been overflowing its banks for many weeks."

Photo by Tudur Davies

Tuesday is another day of scattered showers with some brightness in between. The showers will be heavy and slow moving. It will feel fresher compared with recent days with highs of 7-9°C which is still above the January average. The showers should ease and clear by the evening, and we should see some clear skies as the temperatures drop with a touch of frost possible.

The most promising day this week should be Wednesday, which is looking dry by day with some limited spells of brightness. There will also be lighter winds providing a brief respite from the unsettled weather. By Wednesday evening rain will spill into Pembrokeshire, reaching most areas by midnight. We can expect more heavy rain and strong winds overnight into Thursday.

Cwmorthin Lake taken by Neil Holman

Thursday starts on a wet and windy note followed by sunshine and showers. That theme will continue well into the weekend. We can expect a colder spell next week, but it will be short lived. For now keep your waterproofs to hand as low pressure will continue to steer our weather!

Pressure chart for Wednesday 6 January

Up and down weather over the festive period

2015-12-22T10:05:01+00:00

December has been a wet and very mild month so far. We haven’t broken any records in Wales yet but it has been unusually mild.

Last Saturday temperatures reached a spring-like 13-16°C, well above the average which is nearer 8°C, so it’s no wonder some plants, flowers and wildlife are confused at the moment with daffodils already blooming in some parts of the country.

Daffodils by Paul Simon from Connah's Quay

The reason for the warm weather is the wind direction with south-westerly winds bringing moist air to us from the Azores. A strong El Niño over the tropical Pacific may also be affecting our weather.

Over the next few days the weather is going to be very up and down. There's more rain and strong winds on the way on Tuesday with a yellow warning of heavy rain in force for parts of mid, north and west Wales.

The rain will be heaviest on the hills and mountains with a risk of further flooding in places.

Met Office weather chart up to Christmas Eve

The rain will clear to heavy showers on Tuesday night and it will turn a little colder. Wednesday should be a better day: drier and brighter with some sunshine and only a few scattered showers.

Overnight into Christmas Eve, low pressure will bring more rain, with some heavy rain clearing to showers in the afternoon. These will turn wintry on high ground in the north with a little snow on Snowdon.

Snowdon by Kris Williams

Christmas Day looks set to be a little chillier and more seasonal. Probably dry and bright for a while with just the odd shower but more wind and rain will spread from the south-west later in the day. It looks like it will be turning mild again as we head into Boxing Day.

So I can't promise a white Christmas in Wales this year but from everyone on the weather team, we wish you a very happy Christmas. Nadolig Llawen!

Merry and mild! An unseasonably warm start to Christmas

2015-12-14T14:57:21+00:00

We may be in mid-December now, but our weather is still feeling more like autumn than winter. We have a mild week in store for Wales, but it should also be quite blustery with rain at times.

A front pushes in from the south-west across Wales on Monday, bringing spells of rain on and off. It’s blustery throughout Monday too, but remaining mild with top temperatures of 9°C in Powys to 10°C in Pembrokeshire.

Outbreaks of rain continue to spread north-eastwards on and off during Monday night with some mist and fog patches developing. The rain fizzles out overnight but the cloud holds the temperatures up at around 6-11°C.

Barafundle Bay by Chris Ball

There will be some early brightness in the north and west on Tuesday, staying dry for a time, but otherwise overcast. Thicker cloud develops throughout the day with further rain pushing in from the south-west and moving north-eastwards. The south-east winds should pick up in the evening, and temperatures will remain above average at 9°C on Anglesey and 12° in Newport. There will be pulses of rain Tuesday evening, followed by heavier rain overnight. This should eventually ease, leaving mist and fog patches and again, lots of cloud.

Black Point, Anglesey by Kris Williams

The rain from this front pushes through the night and is followed by a trough in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The rain eases for a time on Wednesday which will be cloudy, with south-westerly winds. We should see a few brighter skies in the north-east; otherwise we can expect it to be overcast with some patchy drizzle. Temperatures on Wednesday are unusually mild for mid-December at 12-14°C. We can expect further rain on Thursday morning as an Atlantic influence brings another unsettled weather system through the west, taking us towards the end of a consistently unsettled working-week.

So… we can expect very changeable weather throughout the week. There will be some drier spells, but it’ll be wet and windy at times too; and continuing to remain unseasonably mild.

Tenby by Technodean 2000

Weather warnings for a windy weekend

2015-12-03T12:46:03+00:00

It's been a dull few days for Wales, but on the plus side it’s still quite mild for the time of year. The overnight temperatures have been exceeding the daytime average. The grey skies make the perfect backdrop for this picture taken by Weather Watcher Mandy Llewellyn.

Taken by Mandy Llewellyn

Thursday afternoon saw another band of heavy rain sweeping across the country. A yellow ‘be aware’ warning has been in force, with the potential for further flooding. The ground is pretty saturated and the river levels are only just recovering after a very wet few days. The good news is that the rain cleared through the night with lows of 5-8°C. Behind the cold weather front it is drier but rather chilly into the early hours of Friday morning.

Friday starts off chilly with some brightness. Cloud will increase from the west through the afternoon but it should stay dry. Temperatures will reach highs of 10-12°C with brisk south-westerly winds through the afternoon.

Met Office pressure chart

It’s not looking to be a very nice start to the weekend as you can see from the pressure chart! A big squeeze on the isobars means strong to gale-force winds inland and severe gales along the coast. If that isn't enough we also have heavy rain to go with it. The Met Office has issued a double warning for the strong winds and the heavy rain on Saturday. There is further risk of flooding and travel disruption is very likely.

There is light at the end of the tunnel however! Sunday should see an improvement with the winds easing. Then we can look forward to a mixture of bright spells and a few showers. Make the most of it as we have more unsettled weather in the forecast for next week.

If you are worried about flooding please call the floodline number on 0345 988 1188. Otherwise you can keep up to date with flood warnings in your region online.

December 1st marks a mild start to winter

2015-12-01T13:53:35+00:00

The first of December is the start of meteorological winter. It's unusually mild at the moment, but still feeling like we're still in the grip of some autumn storms.

It's been a very wet and windy start to the week, kicking off with Storm Clodagh. We've had some heavy rain and exceptionally strong gusts: 93mph was recorded at Capel Curig, 84mph at Lake Vyrnwy.

Met office warnings for wind and rain have now expired. But there are still flood warnings and alerts in place for the Conwy and Dyfi Valleys, on the Rivers Mawddach, Wye, Severn and Vyrnwy among others. There are full details on Natural Resources Wales website.

High waves at Colwyn Bay by Sandra Roberts

We've seen the worst of the wet and windy weather for the time being. Tuesday will be more overcast with outbreaks of drizzle and staying generally cloudy. Rain will be heaviest on high ground in the west – Snowdonia & the Cambrian mountains – with stronger winds here too, and it will be very gusty along the west coast.

It will generally be turning a bit drier on Tuesday afternoon especially in the south and east. And it's unusually mild for the first of December with temperatures of 12°C in Pembrokeshire and 14°C in Conwy. The seasonal average is nearer 7°C.

Tal y Cafn, North Wales by Christian Roberts

Tuesday night will be cloudy with patchy drizzle, still some very gusty winds – particularly on high ground and exposed coasts – and very mild overnight at 10-11°C. Wednesday starts dry but there's further rain on the way with a front arriving from the north-west later. We will have a respite on Wednesday morning, as it will be drier in the south and east - if rather cloudy - but it will turn increasingly wet and windy from the north-west later on Wednesday.

The rain continues overnight into Thursday as a waving weather front moves back and forth bringing further rain early on Thursday, but it will improve from the north-west through the day with winds easing and the rain clearing south-eastwards.

So a very unsettled few days but much better on Friday as it will be drier, clearer and colder. However, it's not necessarily staying that way as it’s looking changeable into the weekend.

The end of the cold snap signals a mixed week ahead

2015-11-23T14:35:45+00:00

It’s been a shock to the system over the weekend after a fairly mild start to November; we've had a very cold and frosty couple of nights. The cold snap is pretty short lived as the weather is set to become milder through this week.
Over the weekend we had a few snow showers especially on higher ground.

Brecon Beacons by Mike Davies

Table Mountain by Fay Clubb

The cold weather is set to continue for a time through Monday, but at least it's sunny. A weather front will change the dynamics of our weather as we go into Monday night. This front will bring some rain and wind from the north-west. It will also bring an Atlantic airflow, so it will be a little bit milder into early hours of Tuesday morning.

Pressure chart for Tuesday 24 November

Tuesday morning should be frost free thanks to the breeze. However it looks to be a day of blustery showers with some brightness and temperatures ranging between 8-10°C.

The blustery showers continue into Wednesday with limited amounts of brightness. Thursday looks dry but cloudy with a very mild night to follow. We can expect more wind and rain on the agenda on Friday.

So there’s bit of everything in the forecast this week to keep us talking about our wonderful Welsh weather!

Weather warnings and snow for Wales?

2015-11-20T16:29:34+00:00

It’s been a busy time in the weather office this week with storm Barney bringing severe gales on Wednesday. It was the worst storm to hit Wales so far this autumn with wind gusts of 50 to over 80mph. The highest gust recorded was 85mph at Aberdaron on the Llŷn Peninsula.

Steve Nelmes

This month has been exceptionally mild but it’s finally turning colder on Friday. The reason for the drop in temperature is a change in wind direction with north-westerly wind bringing Arctic air southwards. The wind is going to a big feature of our weather tonight and tomorrow with a Met Office warning of gales covering much of Wales. Some large waves are also likely on the north and west coast but with neap tides!

Warnings aside, wintry showers are also likely from Friday night with a mix of rain, hail, sleet and snow in places. Most of the snow will fall on high ground with a few centimetres likely by tomorrow morning on some of the hills and mountains, including the Brecon Beacons.

Met Office Pressure Chart - November 20

Saturday will bring a mixture of sunny spells and scattered showers - most of the showers will be in the west, heavy in places with wintery hail at times. Higher ground may see a little snow.

Temperatures will be much lower than we’ve been used for a long time, reaching highs of only 4 to 7°C and it will feel bitterly cold in the strong wind, more like -14°C on Pen y Fan and -17°C on the summit of Snowdon!

Sarah Canton

The wind will ease on Saturday afternoon. Saturday night will be calmer with a mix of clear spells and showers. Inland temperatures will fall close to freezing with some frost and icy patches on untreated roads. On Sunday a few more showers are likely, mainly in the west, but there will be plenty of dry and bright weather as well. Temperatures will still be on the cold side reaching 6 to 9°C with light winds.

So… the thermals will come in handy this weekend, the coldest weekend of the autumn so far, but the cold snap won’t last long! Next week will turning milder again with more rain on Monday.

Barney brings a 'taste of winter' to Wales

2015-11-17T09:45:34+00:00

Atlantic storms seem to be coming at us one after the other at the moment! At first there was Abigail, who was followed closely by ex-hurricane Kate last week and over the weekend, and next on the list is Barney which will bring another spell of heavy rain and severe gales on Tuesday evening.

A range of weather warnings are currently in force across the UK, so do check here for the latest updates for Wales…

Stormy waves lash Aberystwyth - Izzy Standbridge

Over the weekend most of the rain fell on the hills and mountains with over 110mm recorded at Capel Curig in Snowdonia. On the coast there was less rainfall and in north east Wales in the rain shadow it was drier with only 7mm of rain measured at Hawarden in Flintshire.

Hawarden was also one of the warmest places in Wales over the weekend with a temperature of 16.4°C recorded on Sunday afternoon, 6°C above the seasonal average. It was windy too, with gales and a gust of 81mph recorded at Aberdaron on the Llyn Peninsula!

On Monday evening rain spread across the country and was heavy in places, with another 25mm on higher ground. After the rain subsided around midnight, it did become windy along the south coast. Tuesday morning however marks the calm before the storm.

Met Office Pressure Chart for Tuesday 17 November 2015

After a quiet morning, another spell of rain will spread across the country; the rain heaviest on the hills and mountains in mid and north Wales, with another 20 to 40mm of rain. The wind will increase as well becoming strong with gales later in the afternoon and severe gales during the evening.

Gusts around 60mph are possible inland, 70 or 80mph on exposed coasts in the south and west. These winds will be strong enough to cause some travel disruption, bring down a few trees and power cuts are possible as well, so be aware!

On Tuesday night the wind will dip before becoming windy again during Wednesday, most of the rain will be in the north. Thursday and Friday will also be windy at times with showers or longer spell of rain.

A wintery Castell Coch - Gale Jolly

Looking ahead to the weekend; it looks like we’re in for a taste of winter with Arctic winds bringing showers. The showers wintry at times, especially in the north and on higher ground in the south, with hail, sleet and snow.