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UPDATE & CLOSING REMARKS, 08:20HRS, MONDAY 01 MARCH 2010:
I drove from Hertfordshire along the M25 and then westwards on the M4 during some of Sunday's worst conditions. The amount of standing water was especially treacherous on the motorways and unsurprisingly, the in the wake of the heavy rain.

The Met Office's forecast of the most significant rain and winds affecting areas southeast of a line from around mid-Devon up to mid-Lincolnshire proved pretty accurate, as did theÌýfairly swift clearance of inclement weather eastwards by around mid-afternoon.

The storm caused a swathe of damage across parts of NW Europe, including here at Mainz, West Germany (Photo: AFP)

Sadly, the anticipated severe weather in France, Spain, GermanyÌýand other parts of NW Europe also became reality, costing the lives of at least 50 people. . IndeedÌýthe French Prime Minister Francois FillonÌý thereby freeing up funds to help businesses and communities recover.

Ìý- described as "the worst I'veÌýever encountered" byÌýa woman in Persac, France.

The quieter, drier spell of weather now across southern Britain will bring a good deal of blue sky and overnight frosts, before conditions become more 'mobile' once again from Wednesday onwards.ÌýA cold easterly windy will be very noticeable and whilst many areas will remain largely dry, some hill snow isÌýlikely at times from Wednesday onwards in the SW and elsewhere; perhaps a chance of more significant rain, sleet and snow in East Anglia by the weekend.

However, after a continuation of this cold, blocked anticyclonic pattern, there's a hint of temperatures starting to return to the norm within the latter part of this coming fortnight.ÌýFingers-crossed for spring!


UPDATE, 17.30HRS, SATURDAY 27 FEB. 2010 (amended 22:10hrs):
The storm isÌýhas undergoneÌýexplosive deepening NW of Portugal and isÌýcrossing the Bay of Biscay.

Hurricane Force 12 winds are expected in some sectors of the shipping lanes there tonight and we've recently seen gustsÌýaround 70mph near Santander.

Damaging windsÌýare expectedÌýinto parts of western and northern France later tonight andÌýthrough the morning. The sting jet potential (mentioned in my last update) remains a real concern on the SW flank as the development continues. The Channel Islands - where tides will also be high -Ìýare likely to see winds gusting around 60-75mph for a while at least,Ìýearly in the morning.

On this side of the English Channel, conditions will readily worsen tonight as the winds increase and rain starts to sweep across parts of the West Country and along the south coast, especially from midnight towards daybreak. So, very wet and very windy is an adequate summary for a number of counties, but many of you in the west will see aÌýsteady improvement even by midday.

Southeast of a line from around mid Devon up to mid Lincolnshire, some heavy rain will fall at times into the morning, widely giving 15-25mm accumulations and potentially 40-50mm locally in some areas of the extreme south between East Dorset and Kent. Certainly enough to cause local flooding problems and the Met Office has now issued FLASH warnings to highlight this threat. Coastal and estuarineÌýflood issues from storm surge, combined with high springÌýtides, are also a concern for parts of the SE and East Anglia especially.

The strongest winds - whilst always on the south side of the low - will nonetheless make their presence felt here in England, especially through the morning as the system moves steadily eastwards. The current Met Office modelling suggests pretty wild conditions for a spell tomorrow in the likes of Hampshire, Sussex and Kent. Heavy rain will be across much of the SE around midday and I dare say the inclement conditions will surely prove troublesome for people travelling to Wembley for the Carling Cup final.

By the time it kicks-off at 3pm, we expect areas west of aroundÌýSwindon to be seeing improving weather; indeed, sunny but still rather breezy conditions will be acrossÌýmuch ofÌýthe West Country potentially by around 1pm, with the heaviest of the morning's rain having cleared eastwards by then. But the wet weather - albeit perhaps not especially heavy by 3pm - is still likely to be falling above NW London when the football match starts.

Monday and Tuesday, incidentally, look a good deal drier and quieter! But the legacy from tonight / tomorrow's storm across parts of France and NW IberiaÌýcould well be very newsworthy indeed, for all the wrong reasons.


UPDATE, 23.30HRS, FRIDAY 26 FEB. 2010:
Sunday's storm is nowÌýforming west of the Canaries. ConsideringÌýwe're still watching anÌýincipient phase - after which things will start to evolve quickly - and still many miles from our shores, the level of agreement between various forecast models on developments through the next 48 hours is quite noteworthy.

However, the last Met Office model takesÌýthe lowÌýslightly north of previous expectations by midnight Sat-Sun. The French Arpege model supports this idea, albeit with a somewhat less deep centre at the same timeframe.

So, no significant change - broadly speakingÌý-Ìýfrom my last update,Ìý other than the likelihoood of some stronger winds into the SE quadrant of England during Sunday.

Crucially however, a real (worrying) potential identified by the Met Office scientistsÌýis a feature likely to threatenÌýparts of northern France. If this becomes reality, it could take a swatheÌýofÌý60-70mph gusts also across the Channnel Islands - briefly -Ìýearly on Sunday morning. TheÌýimpact on parts of France could prove far more newsworthy.

Around 20-40mm of rain is signalled from the latest Met Office modellingÌýacross the SE quadrant of England during Sunday, with snow into parts of the Midlands and perhaps southern-central England north of the M4, falling across areas mostly above 200m, at least for a while. The risk of coastal flooding is certainly a concern for some areasÌý(see last update).

UPDATE, 10:30HRS, FRIDAY 26 FEB. 2010:
Generally good forecast continuity from the the Met Office's Global Model continues to offer a very similar story to my last update, with Sunday's storm expected to track across the Brest Peninsula and east-northeast through districts of northern France.

The latest synoptic chart from the Met Office for midday on Sunday - reproduced below - affords a very graphic indication ofÌýthe tightly-packed isobars expectedÌýalong the southern flankÌýespecially.

This will surelyÌýbring a spell of veryÌýsevere weather across parts of N/NW France, where winds are forecast to gust up to 80+mph, doubtless causing a swathe of disruption and potentialÌýdamage. Earlier, the storm is likelyÌýto have caused similar problems in NW Spain, before it crosses the Bay ofÌýBiscay tracking northeast.

For much of southern EnglandÌýand Wales, however, theÌýlikelihood of heavy rain remainsÌýour primary focus of attention, with the andÌýmaybe double that in someÌýdistricts. Local (inland) flooding is thus a matter of concern;Ìýperhaps alsoÌýsomeÌýproblems developing in some coastal areas,Ìýwith high tides on Sunday combining with the surge effects generated by strong winds.

Those winds - while certainly touching gale or even severe gale force, especially in the extreme south - are looking somewhat less menacing for the British IslesÌýgiven the expected track of this low (albeit, as noted above,ÌýaÌýfar more dangerous outcome is expected across the other side ofÌýthe Channel).

A continuingÌýforecast complication is the chance of snow during Sunday as the storm departs further eastwards, increasingly drawing colder air off the North Sea and wrapping this around the system's north and northwest flanks.

The current Met Office view is for snow to fall across parts of the Midlands - including to lower levels - and across into Wales, but the southern extent of this potential remainsÌýunclear. Areas northwards of the M4 (e.g., perhaps including parts of Glos., Oxon and environs) look more at risk of at least some transientÌýsnow, but at lower levels it's unlikely to settle readily.

UPDATE, 20:00HRS, THURSDAY 25 FEB. 2010:
We're now entering a very interesting period of model-watching regarding developments for Sunday.

The Met Office's Global Model - showing pretty good continuity of late -Ìýhas shifted the likely track of the storm just a tad to the southeast of previous runs. It's noteworthy how Arpege, the French forecast model, prefers an even more SE and slightly faster progression. And for that matter, so does GFS (the US global forecast model).

So which will prove correct?

The French solution has the 'eye' of this system, at a surface pressure of 976mB,Ìýmaking landfall around the Mouth of the LoireÌýat midnight on Sunday morning. The Met Office version of events keeps a slightly slower and more northerly track than ArpegeÌý- with the low pressure centre still above northern Spain andÌýentering the Bay of BiscayÌýat midnight Sunday AM, beforeÌýtracking up across the Brest Peninsula.

Either way, a swathe of strong winds - potentially up to 70kts and decidely perilousÌý-Ìýis signalled to cross parts of N/NW France (with some of the most severe winds close to Paris)Ìýduring Sunday, while heavy rain and windy weatherÌýaffectsÌýmuch of southern UK.

By late Sunday, with the low spinning away along northern districtsÌýof Benelux, a 'wrap-around' of colder air floods across the Midlands, Wales and parts of the West Country. The current lower-resolution Met Office modelling calls for between 2-6cm of snow from this 'tail-end-charlie' feature, including for the likes of upland Gloucestershire. However, that's very speculative and for sure, it's the heavy rainÌý and associated flood potentialÌýthat remains our main focus for attention.

If the current model trends continue, Sunday will give a spell of truly severe weather for parts of northern France and environs.

Meantime, it'll be a distinctly wet,Ìýwindy but perhaps not 'severe'Ìýday of weather - in the strict sense -Ìýfor much of southern Britain.

Quite understandably,Ìýcontinuing uncertainty regarding the precise track of this stormÌýis the reason why the Met Office has held-off issuingÌýadvisories or warnings, for now, at least. But as ever, I'll update you on all the latest forecast detail tomorrow...

Ìý

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(ORIGINAL ENTRY FOLLOWS)

This winter's fascinating and often dramatic weather changes complexion now for a while, with some .

Then - after generally drier, quieter conditions on Friday and Saturday -Ìýa much more troublesome-looking spell of weather is expectedÌýfor Sunday.

Down in southeastern reaches of the North Atlantic Ocean, wayÌýeast of Florida, the potential for trouble arriving byÌýSaturday nightÌýis already brewing.Ìý A wave-like disturbance in the atmosphere is gathering pace and will develop into a deep as it moves northeast.

The charts on the right show the expected track of this , with the low centre moving towards NW Europe across warm oceanic waters and turning ever-more potent with each passing hour. If you're interested in the deeper science, In short, it could get pretty nasty.

Current expectations take the feature very close to Madeira -ÌýÌý- before it buffetsÌýNW Iberia with strong winds and heavy rain.

As the Sunday chart shows, the track continues up across the Bay of Biscay, but precision on theÌýexact path it'll follow is yet to be determined. The Met Office's current expectation sees the centre of the low sweep through the English Channel, with strong winds especially on it's southern flank affecting coastal regions of France but also someÌýcoastal districts of southernÌýEngland.

The impact across the British Isles will vary: for the West Country, our primary concern is a spell of potentially heavy, persistent rain falling onto already saturated ground. The spectre of local flooding is a worry in some areas of southern England. ÌýThe winds will also be a feature - possibly gales or severe gales in exposed districtsÌý- albeit at least most trees are without leaves, hopefully mitigating the risk of widespread wind damage problems.

The north and northwest flank of the low will progressively entrain colder air, offering a temporary risk of snow over at least higher ground. The current Met Office model suggests such a risk through parts of the midlands, extending down into parts of Wales and the West Country - but there's a great deal of uncertainty about how extensive such snow could become, as the low tracks east. It's the heavy rain that gives us greater concern.

The Met Office is assessing the details and disparity on the rate of deepening, track and precipitation likely to arise from this storm; understandably, they're holding-off issuing formal advisories and warnings until the regional bias of risk is clearer. It's very much a story in motion - I'll keep you updated.