Were you lucky enough to have blazing sunshine through the half term holiday, or were you sitting under a blanket of cloud? 

Whichever, the cool wind and the distribution of cloud were a lovely case study of Polar continental air. 

With High pressure sitting to the North of Scotland, and winds blowing clockwise around it, the typical pattern of cloud forming over the western side of the North Sea, spreading onto the eastern side of Scotland and England, persisted for many days. One some days, the cloud was thin enough for most to evaporate during the day, on others, the cloud persisted. 

Having come from Scandinavia or Siberia, the air was cool. To identify the source of the air, simply pick an isobar that crosses the UK, and follow it back to see where the air has come from, remembering that the wind blows approximately along the isobars, in a clockwise direction around High pressure.