Forecasters' outlook

The Monthly Outlook starts with a text overview of the following four weeks, covering week one, week two and weeks three to four.

It covers

• temperature
• rainfall
• sunshine
• confidence in the accuracy of the outlook

Outlook data

Forecast information for week two and weeks three to four is provided. This is broken down by region and compared to the long-term average and last year's figures.

The maps provide a quick way to see how the forecast weather compares to the long-term average for each region.

This section of the outlook contains information on:

• Maximum temperature
• Minimum temperature
• Mean temperature
• Rainfall (mm)
• Sunshine (hours)
• Heating degree days

Probability data

This section of the outlook contains probability data for:

• Maximum temperature
• Minimum temperature
• Mean temperature
• Rainfall (mm)
• Sunshine (hours)

For example, for maximum temperature the table and graphical maps show the numerical probability of the maximum temperature being average, above/below average or well above/well below average for the region and time of year.

Summary data

The Monthly Outlook also contains a summary of forecast weather for the entire four-week period.

The information is compared to the long-term average, last year's figures and the weather from the previous four weeks.

As with the previous section, the summary contains information on:

• Maximum temperature
• Minimum temperature
• Mean temperature
• Heating degree days
• Rainfall (mm)
• Sunshine (hours)