Storms to batter UK with wind and rain from late January into February
A shift in the overall weather pattern will bring the return of potent Atlantic storms to the United Kingdom from this weekend into February.
This expected outbreak of storms will be a significant change from what has occurred across the U.K. so far this year.
A dominating area of high pressure has been centered over central and western Europe during much of January, shielding the U.K. from any significant storm systems.
There have been no named windstorms during the month of January.
"There will be a transition period this weekend as it starts to become a little more active with showery weather," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Courtney Spamer.
The storm track through the weekend will take storms just north of the British Isles. However, passing fronts will bring in rounds of showers. Showers will be wintry in the hills of Scotland.
"Increasingly stormy weather is expected through the new week, with more blustery conditions by Monday and Tuesday," Spamer added.
It is this pattern change that will likely yield multiple named storms during the month of February.
The strongest storms are expected to bring impacts ranging from damaging winds and flooding to travel disruption.
While all of the U.K. will notice an increase in stormy weather, the degree of impacts will vary across the country.
“The most frequent and significant impacts are expected across western and southern areas,” said AccuWeather Meteorologist Tyler Roys.
“Significant coastal flooding will be possible in several of these storms,” added Roys.
<b>RELATED:</b><br><em><a href="http://www.accuweather.com/en/gb/united-kingdom-weather">United Kingdom Weather Center</a><br><a href="http://www.accuweather.com/get/weather?page=minutecast">MinuteCast® for your location</a><br><a href="http://www.accuweather.com/en/gb/london/ec4a-2/weather-radar/328328">Interactive United Kingdom weather radar</a></em>
The high frequency of these storms will also lead to an increased risk for river and stream flooding as areas get repeated rounds of rainfall.
Another noticeable change in the weather will be the lack of cold air settling over the U.K. as the frequent Atlantic storms bring milder air to the region.
As a result, there will be fewer prolonged periods of fog and frosty nights compared to January.
The barrage of storms will continue into the middle of February. However, there will still be the threat for a named windstorm during the second half of the month despite less frequency of storms.
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