In 24h we have experienced a drastic change in the weather conditions. Until Saturday very warm air from continental Europe was causing settled and relatively hot conditions (for the time of the year). Indeed, temperatures have reached 24/25°C in many areas of Southern England, with 20°C observed also in Wales and S Scotland.
Overnight into Sunday the synoptic situation saw a broad high just W of Ireland, and very cold Arctic air flowing south along its E flank towards Scotland.
I have plotted the temperatures observed during the day in some cities across the country (Figure1: Edinburgh, Newcastle, Manchester, London and Dover) to show the drop during the day.
On Sunday morning temperatures were still relatively mild in central/S England and Wales (13/18°C), whilst N England and Scotland were seeing values well below 10°C as the cold front approached.
Later in the morning, central England was experiencing a drop in temperature with Manchester observing values below 10°C around midday. Finally, just after midday London was reached by the cold air, with a drop of 8°C in three hours. Dover was reached only one hour later.
The evening has been very cold, with values just above zero in Scotland and N England and between 5/10°C elsewhere.
It is nice to see the cold advection across the country on Sunday morning on the Satellite image (Figure 2) with the Arctic Air over Scotland and N England (scattered clouds and wintry showers over hills) pushing south. Indeed, the cold front is well visible across central England with rain in some areas. Finally, further south settled and warm conditions were still in place.
In summary, it has been a very interesting weekend with a drastic change in the weather conditions. The main absent is still the rain, a trend that seems persisting since April in many areas.
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