NOte: I've to leave early for the wolves today, hence this shorter analysis.
Normal service (including the Christmas Countdown) will resume tomorrow.

Here is a summary of the latest NWP output for noon (GMT) on Thursday.
Issued 0546, 14th December 2008.

The end of the working week will see mild, wet and windy conditions for most
as the result of a complex low over Iceland.

ECMWF: http://expert.weatheronline.co.uk/da...mwf/ecmwf.html
Strong SW'lies cover the UK from days 5 to 7, with complex low pressure near
Iceland.

MetO: http://expert.weatheronline.co.uk/da...ukmo/pslv.html
MetO shows SW'lies as well on days 5 and 6, again with low pressure over
Iceland.

GFS: http://expert.weatheronline.co.uk/pslv_frame.htm
SW'lies cover the UK with GFS, with complex low pressure to the NW. SSW'lies
affect the UK on days 6 and 7 as pressure builds to the east.

GEM: http://expert.weatheronline.co.uk/da.../gem/pslv.html
The Canadian run has strong SW'lies as per the other runs.

JMA: http://85.214.49.20/pics/Rjma1201.gif
The Japanese run is the odd run out, with a trough to the east and NW'lies
over the UK.