Following on from the mid Jan mild spell, two other repeating patterns
seem to be showing again this year: the late January average-to-cold,
cloudy high which then gradually sinks south allowing a period (of
varying length) of wet n'windy to arrive in early February.

This pattern has occurred in a number of recent years: 2008 (though
the high was weaker and milder), 2007, 2006, 2005 (I think the
zonality was weaker then), 2000 (both the high and the zonality were
about a week earlier), 1999 and 1997.

Indeed a number of years have followed a consistent first month and a
half of the year comprising a mostly mild first 15-20 days of Jan, a
dry anticyclonic remainder of Jan and very early Feb, and some sort of
zonality at some point in the first half of Feb: 1999, 2005, 2006,
2007 and 2008 (though in the latter case the zonality was very
transient IIRC and was quickly followed by a very mild and also very
sunny high). There's then no consistent pattern for later Feb, though
a dry and mild March seems to be a common pattern these days.

Nick