Whilst it will remain settled in the south, disruptive rainfall is likely to affect northwest Scotland.

This pressure pattern brings dry, settled weather for southern areas while low pressure systems track to the north of the UK. Here, a slow-moving weather front will bring a spell of persistent and at times heavy rain to northwest Scotland. Amber and Yellow National Severe Weather Warnings for rain have been issued for northwest Scotland where 100 to 150 mm of rainfall is expected quite widely but some west-facing upslopes could see around 200 mm.

Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Matthew Lehnert, said: “This weekend will be mild across the UK with high pressure in the south maintaining a settled theme. However, a slow-moving front will bring a spell of heavy rain to northwest Scotland.”

“Into early next week, this weather front will move slowly south and bring some rain to the remainder of the UK. As the front clears south, temperatures will return to near average. It will remain changeable through midweek, with the best of any prolonged drier spells in the south and east.”

As we head towards the end of next week and the festive period there is, as always, more uncertainty in the forecast. However, there are indications that by the end of next week we could see high pressure moving further south and west away from the UK, allowing northwesterly winds to develop at times. This would allow some short periods where colder air affects the UK, with the potential for wintry showers in northern areas. At this stage there is very little sign of any widespread or severe cold and wintry weather.

As always, these longer range forecast subject to change so for the day to day detail keep up to date with the latest forecast on our website, by following us on Twitter and Facebook, as well as on our mobile app which is available for iPhone from the App store and for Android from the Google Play store.