A THICK blanket of heavy cloud will cover the UK today as a band of intense downpours sweeps in.
The wet wave will mainly affect Northern Ireland, western Scotland and northwest England as it rolls in from the Atlantic.
But everywhere will be susceptible to showers due to dark skies looming over nearly all of the country.
Cloud will keep temperatures a little higher in the south of England, which will see highs of eight and nine degrees across London and Cornwall.
The northeast of England and Scotland will see temperatures slightly lower – hitting around the 5C mark overnight.
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Thursday will see a cold, misty start, particularly in the south and east, before the heavy rain and strong winds hit.
That will be followed by cold, showery weather on Friday and a frosty start to Saturday followed by milder rains.
The cold start to the new year will come after the UK saw its hottest ever December day.
Locals in the hamlet of Achfary in the Scottish Highlands saw temperatures reaching 18.7C on Saturday, surpassing the previous record of 18.3C, also set in the Highlands in 1948.
The region often sees warmer temperatures due to a phenomenon known as the Foehn Effect.
The effect sees moisture in air condense as the air moves over high ground, leaving only the drier air to fall back to lower regions, gathering heat as it moves.
