2017 weather forecast for Britain: January offers a chilly reception, but we’re set for a BBQ summer

THE past year has been damp squib in several ways, but a brighter 2017 is nearly here, say weather experts.

Summer is set to be a scorcher, but not before a big chill hits at the end of January.

Here Jim Dale, senior risk meteorologist of British Weather Services, predicts the rest of the year ahead.

February

GET those thermals out — the country will feel like a fridge, if not the freezer, this month.

An airflow from Siberia is due to deliver a couple of snowy and frosty weather spells. It’s enough to hit the front pages with traffic chaos and schools closures.

March

MARCH is normally a recovery month.

But don’t be surprised if another wintry blast blows in and bites your backside just when you were thinking it was all over.

There will, however, be the occasional mild day to warm the cockles.

April

THIS is arguably the most diverse month in our calendar, capable of heatwaves, droughts, snow and hard frosts in equal measure.

This time around, bank on what it’s famed for . . . showers! Plenty of them and possibly a tornado or two thrown in.

May

NOW’S the time for some warmth.

But be warned, there’s not going to be a major turnaround for a few weeks yet.

The month of May is also predicted to be pretty wet for some periods.

So expect a mixture of frontal systems and showers to dominate.

June

WOW, what a scorcher! There, I said it.

We are overdue a genuine heatwave and you know that when one late bus arrives it’s often followed by two or three.

Sorry, Northerners, but the South will get the best weather first. Nothing new there.

July

BY now the whole of the UK should be seeing higher tem­peratures than average.

There will be copious sunshine throughout all of July.

The odd week of wetter or thundery weather may strike here or there, but it will be more drought than deluge.

August

BOOK your spot on the British beach.

The heatwave probably won’t hit the heights of the summer of 1976. And we may not top the record UK temperature of 38.5C.

But if the probabilities are correct then you’ll be needing sunblock. A lot of it.

September

WE like September. It often delivers hot spells that make up for a ropy summer.

But this year could be a bit of a comedown following the expected heatwave.

Expect rain, lots of it. There may also be a risk of nationwide flooding.

October

RECENT autumns have proved mild, with warm temperatures at the beginning of the month.

But this may not be the case in 2017.

It is feared a rash of storms will rock the second half of the month.

So best be prepared for a washout October.

November

NOVEMBER is looking like being a pretty average month.

It will hopefully be mild like this year.

Expect the expected, with temperatures dropping and a mix of wet and milder days.

It should see a slow transition into winter.

December

WE may not have got snow this Christmas.

But next December could well provide us with an early flutter or two.

With a little luck, the freeze will come just in time to deliver a near universal white Christmas. Cross your fingers very tight!