St. Margaret's Hope (Orkney Islands) weather

Headline:

Dry but cloudy morning, misty and drizzly afternoon.

Today:

A quite cloudy morning with some bright spells possible. Cloud thickening and lower through the afternoon with some mist and the odd patch of drizzle. Maximum temperature 11 °C.

Tonight:

It will remain cloudy through the evening and overnight with the odd spot of drizzle possible. Strengthening west to southwesterly winds. Minimum temperature 9 °C.

Friday:

Cloudy but mainly dry through the morning, patchy light rain possible. Heavy rain for a time in the afternoon. Then colder with clear spells and showers. West or southwest gales. Maximum temperature 12 °C.

Outlook for Saturday to Monday:

Turning colder with blustery showers, increasingly wintry later Sunday and Monday, and westerly gales, becoming northerly on Sunday.

Frequent wintry showers are expected, mainly in the north and along eastern and western coasts where exposed to the strong north to northwesterly flow. Snow is likely to fall to low levels, especially in the north. Many inland areas may be largely dry with lengthy sunny spells, especially where sheltered from the flow. However, there is a risk of some more organised areas of rain and hill snow running east across more southern parts. The chance of any widespread or disruptive snowfall affecting more populated areas at this stage remains low though. Cold everywhere with overnight frost, and the strong winds will result in significant wind chill. There is a hint that it may become less cold later in the period, with more of a westerly flow becoming established.

Signals vary in prevailing weather patterns through this period but likely mainly unsettled and rather cold for the start of the period. There is a chance of more mobile weather patterns which would see Atlantic systems periodically move across the country. These will bring some wetter and windier interludes with a risk of some snow, especially for hills of the north. A trend toward less mobile weather or more settled conditions is favoured into December, although some wetter and windier interludes remain likely at times. Temperatures also trending closer to average, especially in the south.