Storm Goretti first, then becoming less cold

Happy New Year! Oldham weather expert Jon Baylis's weekly forecast is back after a well-earned rest over the festive period.

It’s been a cold start to January with temperatures well below-average and we have seen some snowfall.

That said, there could well be some more on the way later today (Thursday) and then perhaps again mid-month if cold can drift in from the continent.

That is a long way off and very tricky to forecast at this stage, it’s even tricky to track today’s low pressure system which has been named as Storm Goretti by the French.

This low pressure is going to bring a significant amount of snow to parts of England and Wales and also some very strong winds to the southwest of England and perhaps the southern coast of the UK.

There are many warnings in place.

Notably two amber warnings - one for snow and one for damaging winds.

Of course, at the time of writing Jon can only predict what looks the most likely outcome, as well as adding his thoughts to how things will pan out.

Look out for updates on social media as this storm system, which is a developing area of low pressure, could well change its track by a few miles, which can make all the difference.

Here's Jon's latest forecast ahead of the weekend:

Today (Thursday): A cloudy and misty start with perhaps a few light wintry showers around.

Winds will be light initially with the odd bright spell over lunchtime.

Into the evening the wind will increase from the northeast and cloud will thicken from the south.

During the evening at this stage, it is expected that rain will push across the region.

Whether it snows or not, depends on a few factors.

Will it be cold enough? Will it be heavy?

The heavier the precipitation, means the temperature can drop and therefore there is more chance of the rain turning to snow, which is called evaporative cooling.

At this stage, Jon is leaning towards rain for western areas, especially towards the coast and in low-lying areas.

Inland and towards the hills there is more chance of seeing the rain turn to sleet or snow with the heavier snow and the highest chance of it falling being where the current yellow warning is i.e. the Peak District, the hills, and the Pennines.

This forecast is subject to change so look out on social media for posts.

Max 5°C Min 0°C Max Gusts 25mph.

Friday: Winds will now switch to a northerly as the low pressure moves away into the North Sea.

Any precipitation will ease away quickly, but if you have had some snowfall, do be aware that there could be some tricky driving conditions in the morning. S

now on the hills/Pennines/the Peak District will take the longest to ease away.

Most of the day will then be dry with just a few scattered wintry showers and still feeling cold.

Clear skies overnight leading to a patchy frost and ice.

Max 4°C Min -1°C Max Gusts 25mph.

Weekend: Remaining cold but no dramas.

Saturday: A decent day with bright or sunny spells after early mist or fog lifts.

A cold one though and there could be the odd scattered wintry shower once more.

A slight frost overnight.

Max 4°C Min -2°C.

Sunday: A bright morning but cloud will thicken later in the day.

With the cold air in place, we could see some brief snowfall later in the day before this turns to rain overnight and temperatures lift a tad.

Max 4°C Min 1°C.

Outlook: Monday and Tuesday both look cloudy, less cold with patchy rain.

The rest of the week doesn’t see much change, but by next weekend we could see the risk of snow increase once more and temperatures start to drop, especially if we can import some much colder air from the east.

Follow @ChadWeather on X and Bluesky for the latest forecasts and warnings.

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