Weather rollercoaster sees Wick temperatures plummet 20F in a day
Caithness has experienced some decidedly topsy-turvy conditions during the past 24 hours, according to local weather watcher Keith Banks.
He said the prolonged spell of unseasonably mild weather had abruptly yielded to bitterly cold Arctic air, ushered in overnight by a gale force 8 northerly wind that was punctuated with damaging storm-force 10 gusts of up to 58 mph in some parts.
Keith's measurements showed that Wick witnessed a 20F (11C) drop in air temperature between 8am on Wednesday and 8am on Thursday.
"On Wednesday morning, balmy subtropical southerly winds engulfed the town with the temperature peaking at 13.3C (55.9F) – a value more typical for a day in mid-May than in mid-November," he reported.
"On Thursday morning a bracing north-westerly wind brought a frequent wintry mix of wet snow and soft hail, with temperatures in Wick pegged back to an excruciatingly raw 1C to 3C (33.8F-37.4F). However, it would have felt much colder with a significant wind-chill factor in the range of minus 2C and minus 5C (28.4F) to (23.0F)."
Keith, who writes a monthly weather column for the John O'Groat Journal, added: "The weather rollercoaster witnessed in Caithness over the past 24 hours was the result of areas of low pressure to the west and north west of the UK transferring to Scandinavia, sweeping away the unseasonably mild subtropical air, and then allowing biting Arctic air to flood across Scotland on a north-westerly air stream.
"A cold night is in store, with a ground frost and icy patches. Motorists beware. There is even the prospect of an air frost with air temperatures likely to fall close to or below freezing point, 0C (32F), as a ridge of high pressure builds in, causing winds to fall light under clear skies."