There’s lots of activity going on in the Atlantic at the moment – but how will it affect the UK?
Currently there is a big area of low pressure covering a large part of the Atlantic between North America and the UK. While it is fairly large in its size, it’s not particularly intense, powerful or unusual. This means that – while it may look impressive on the charts – it’s not going to bring anything out of the ordinary for the UK over the next few days.
It will, however, be generally unsettled across many parts through Friday and the weekend, as the low pressure drives a weather system across the UK. This will bring strong winds, with gusts of up to 50mph in the most exposed parts of the west, and rain in places. However, some parts will enjoy periods of drier and brighter weather.
Tied up in the general Atlantic circulation is an area of warm air, which was originally part of tropical storm Fay. This will bring very mild air across parts of the country, with daytime temperatures possibly reaching around 20C across south-eastern areas by Saturday, well above the October average for the region of 15C.
While it will be very mild, it may not feel particularly warm given the windy and often wet conditions. The unsettled weather is expected to be fairly standard for the middle part of October.
Over the other side of the Atlantic near Bermuda, Hurricane Gonzalo is currently expected to track north and then east across the ocean over the coming days.
There is large uncertainty about the potential track of this storm, with some models suggesting that the remnants could move across the UK whilst others show them staying away from our shores.
If the ex-tropical storm does move across the country, some parts could see gales and heavy rain, but currently extreme conditions look unlikely.
As ever, the Met Office keep a close eye on developments over the next few days and keep everyone up to date if it looks like there is any sign of severe weather heading for the UK.
© Met Office
