 During the afternoon of 1 January, a depression broke away from this central Atlantic low from the SW of the Azores in a frontal wave, transporting a mass of warm and moist air and moved quickly northeast, to be centred north-west of Malin Head Ireland, by midday on 2 January.On its journey, the system rapidly deepened, powered by an in-draught of cold air from the north which supplied temperature contrast powering explosive development.The low then passed eastwards, crossing central Scotland out into the North Sea to reach northern Denmark by the morning of 3 January.