Last weekend's weather

Libby Greenhalgh compares the forecast with what actually happened in the UK last weekend

Saturday saw a light southeasterly wind freshen from between 6-8 knots to 10-14 knots as the high pressure system over Scandinavia that dominated the morning was pushed back by a low pressure system tracking northeast on Saturday afternoon.

As the low pressure advanced the winds backed more easterly and increased. In general the forecast winds were an overestimate for Saturday where the winds were forecast to be 10-14 knots in the morning and would freshen to 15-18 knots from 100 degrees in the afternoon. The winds did increase but the stronger winds forecast were not seen until the night and early Sunday morning as the low pressure system moved slower than expected. This meant that the winds on Sunday were stronger than forecast.

Sunday saw a wind shifting between 010 and 345 degrees as it bounced off the shore
With the wind strength at times reaching 20 knots but mainly oscillating between 14-18 knots in the morning. The forecast Sunday wind strength was around 15 knots easing across the day, which by early afternoon was more accurate as the winds slowly dropped to between 6-8 knots and overnight the low pressure pushed through the Solent.

Outlook
The weekend ahead will be dominated by a large scale cyclonic system out in the mid Atlantic producing southwesterly winds greater than 15 knots on the Saturday that will ease slightly on the Sunday but remain in a similar direction. Some key features to look out for will be the associated frontal systems pushing through on Saturday afternoon and late Sunday.