AccuWeather's 2019-2020 UK winter forecast

Britons will want to keep their brollies to hand this winter, as a stormy season is on the cards for the United Kingdom.

Persistent rain will continue over into the winter, but the frequency of the season’s storms will not reach its climax until the calendar turns to 2020.

AccuWeather Meteorologist Tyler Roys said, “Through early January is going to be the most active.”

Storms that hit in quick succession could pose a heightened risk for flooding as saturated grounds and poor drainage areas have little time to recover.

Due to a lull in the second half of the season, the number of windstorms across the winter overall will average slightly below normal. 

“But there will be times in the later half of winter in which it will be on the quieter side, then get stormy for a couple of days, then transition back to a quieter period,” Roys said. 

Despite some early rumours that the season could be one of the wettest to date, Roys said totals aren’t likely to break records.

“Many cities will receive above-normal rainfall this winter, including Cardiff, London, Bristol, Manchester, Glasgow and Belfast, but we are not calling for record-breaking rainfall,” he said.

Drought conditions that have lingered over the last couple of years in southern England and Midlands should be erased, thanks to the abundant precipitation. 

However, too much rainfall could have an adverse effect on the winter growing season and harvests.

Despite a substantial amount of rain, snow will fall much less frequently.

“It will be mainly confined to the higher locations in Scotland and northern England,” Roys said. 

“There could be a couple of times that snow showers eke into the lower lands of northern England and the northern Midlands along with Northern Ireland and northern Wales, but it should not lead to widespread issues.”

The best chance for this to happen is in the second half of winter when the threat for cold shots increases.

Overall, however, the season won’t be a particularly bitter one. 

Brief spells of icy air will have homeowners switching on the heating at times, but winter will average near to slightly above normal for most locations.

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