What a difference six weeks can make

There’s a very similar circulation pattern in control of this weeks weather to the one at the end of February, with an anticyclonic easterly flow affecting all parts (fig 1). The big difference is that the air mass at the end of February was much colder, but additionally spring has sprung, and Eurasia has warmed, so the 06 UTC anomalies look very different (fig 2) despite the warming or cooling effect of the North Sea.