CANADA and Greenland are to blame for the wet and windy weather to hit Huddersfield this week.

Fierce gales peaked at 71.6mph as the town was lashed with torrential rain and flying debris on Wednesday night.

But the outlook for the weekend looks calmer, according to local weatherman Paul Stevens.

Temperatures today are expected to settle around 7 or 8ºC, with patchy rain and gusts of up to 40mph – more normal for this time of year.

On Sunday, there will be a settled start with milder conditions, but as the cloud builds up some drizzle is expected, bringing the occasional shower.

Next week, high pressure is to rise in the South, giving Huddersfield the chance of drier, more settled weather.

There will be a risk of rain and cloud, but temperatures are expected to remain around 8ºC.

However, wet and windy weather is expected to return towards the end of next week, causing storms at times.

Paul, of Salendine Nook, said: “The reason for our stormy wet weather in Huddersfield is linked to events thousands of miles away in North East Canada and Greenland.

“What we call the polar vortex, a pool of stagnant very cold surface air, below -25ºC and often -40ºC has been present this winter unlike recent winters.

“The polar vortex has been unusually strong this autumn and winter so far. So the jet stream has been stronger than usual, driven by the temperature contrast between the vortex and the tropical regions.

“The jet stream has swung around the bottom of the vortex and straight across the Atlantic keeping us mild and wet and at times stormy.

“This pattern in the short term shows no sign of changing.”

He doubted Huddersfield would see much snow in January, except a few wintry outbreaks of sleet.

“Later in the month there may well be warming in Central Canada that could push the polar vortex east and the jet south,” Paul added.

“So it will remain unsettled with increased probability of snow, especially on the hills to see January out. That could be the start of a change”.

THE stormy weather which has lashed Huddersfield has brought misery for many.

But it has certainly brought a smile to the faces of water bosses.

The rain has massively boosted the region’s reservoirs, which have risen on average by 18.8% since the end of November.

And it means that reservoirs like Scammonden are now standing at 96.6% full.

The region had experienced a very dry spring, summer and autumn, with only 406mm of rain falling between March and October, against a long term average of 503mm.

But the heavy rain of recent weeks has seen an extra 27,564 million litres of water fall into the reservoirs.

That’s the equivalent amount of water to 11,025 Olympic swimming pools.

Yorkshire Water does not rely just on reservoir stocks, but also takes water from a number of other sources including rivers and underground aquifers.

Simon Womersley, water resources modeller at Yorkshire Water, said: “Without a doubt the high levels of rainfall we’ve received in most areas over the last month have played a huge part in helping to fill reservoirs and ensure levels are very healthy for this time of year.

“As ever, customers continue to play a huge part in saving water, and we’re reiterating our year-round message to them to keep up the good work and continue to use water wisely in order to ensure the region remains in the best possible position”.