Barlow Moor (Greater Manchester) weather

Headline:

Increasing cloud, with some rain sleet and snow. Staying cold.

Today:

A mostly cloudy day, with a few sleet and snow showers. Some brighter breaks possible at times. Tending to cloud over by late afternoon as rain and hill snow begin to move in. Breezy and feeling cold. Maximum temperature 5 °C.

Tonight:

Rain, sleet and snow moving eastwards through the evening, clearing to sleet and snow showers overnight. Clearer breaks will allow temperatures to fall and icy stretches to develop. Minimum temperature -1 °C.

Wednesday:

Another cold day is expected, with rather cloudy skies. A scattering of sleet and snow showers, these tending to ease later in the day. Gusty winds. Maximum temperature 6 °C.

Outlook for Thursday to Saturday:

Most likely dry for much of Thursday. An increasing risk of heavy rain, sleet and snow later, along with strong winds. Perhaps lingering into Friday. Sunshine and wintry showers Saturday.

Northerly winds will bring a spell of very cold, wintry conditions to much of if not all of the UK through at least the early part of this period. These will bring snow showers to areas that are exposed to onshore winds. Subtle day-to-day changes in wind direction will change the places most exposed to the showers, but where they occur some significant accumulations of snow are likely. There are likely to be some more coherent bands of sleet and snow working south, and these may bring a risk of more prolonged and widespread wintry precipitation affecting some inland areas. Things become less certain by the second week of January, however it's possible the cold conditions may persist with an ongoing risk of winter hazards across much of the UK.

High pressure will probably be close to the UK at the start of this period, perhaps most likely centered to the west, and whilst this may allow relatively settled and dry conditions with a risk of frost and fog initially, there will be the chance of some occasional wet weather at times, perhaps more especially in the north and east. Given some relatively cold air close to the UK, this may bring the chance of some wintry hazards in places. Towards mid-month, there is the potential for rather more changeable conditions to develop more widely, although confidence in this aspect of the forecast is currently low.