Stanhope (Durham) weather

Headline:

Sunny spells this morning, rain later.

Today:

Any early frost, mist or fog patches soon clearing to give plenty of sunshine during the morning with light winds. Cloud thickening from the west during the afternoon with rain and strong winds affecting western hill by dusk. Maximum temperature 11 °C.

Tonight:

Cloud continuing to thicken across the region with periods of locally heavy rain sweeping quickly eastwards, clearing to scattered blustery showers during the early hours. Minimum temperature 3 °C.

Friday:

Windy with variable amounts of cloud. Scattered blustery showers will be heavy and possibly thundery at times. Turning drier through the evening but cloud thickening again later. Maximum temperature 15 °C.

Outlook for Saturday to Monday:

Unsettled throughout this period with bands of rain or showers moving across the region, some of which may be heavy or thundery at times. Windy throughout.

The changeable and at times unsettled weather is likely to continue to start this period, with low pressure dominating the UK. This means further showers or longer spells of rain at times. All parts could see some heavy rain, but it is likely that western areas will be wettest. Strong winds are likely at times, with gales possible in the west. Equally there should also be some drier or clearer interludes, these more prevalent further east. There will likely be a transition to a less unsettled pattern later in the period making drier interludes more common. Winds predominantly blowing from a westerly or southwesterly quadrant. Above average temperatures are most likely, with a reduced incidence of overnight frost and fog, compared to normal, especially at first.

The gradual transition to a less unsettled pattern is anticipated to continue through the middle part of the month. With time, greater incidences of high pressure look set to affect the UK, bringing more in the way of dry weather, but also increasing the chances of overnight fog and frost. There may however be some periods of rain, showers, and stronger winds, especially in the west. Later in the month any low pressure systems will likely be steered to the northwest of the UK. As such the majority of any wet and windy weather is more likely to affect areas further to the north. Overall, temperatures look to pan out near to a little above average.