With widespread sunshine across the country over the last week, Brits could be forgiven for thinking spring is getting underway. However, according to forecasts from the Met Office and WX Charts, wintery weather is set to make an unwelcome return.
Tee-shirt weather is soon to be replaced by temperatures below 10C, while in some parts of the UK nightfall will see the mercury drop below zero. Deputy Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, Chris Bulmer explains: “A frontal zone will move south across the UK during Sunday night and Monday with much colder air following from the north.
“With these cold northeasterly winds, we are likely to see some wintry showers across the north and the east of the UK next week, but any accumulations of snow are likely to be largely restricted to hills. We’ll also see a return to overnight frosts in many areas. While there is uncertainty in the extent of rain and wintry showers through the middle of next week, there is higher confidence that below average temperatures will continue through the week, bringing a very different feel to the mild weather over the weekend.”
This outlook is largely shared by WX Charts, although the online forecast predicts snowfall over much larger areas of the country.
According to WX Charts radar, by Wednesday 12 almost all of Scotland, including Glasgow and Edinburgh, will see snowfall, as will most of northern England, Wales, and the West Midlands. It is worth noting that the Met Office does not share this outlook.
The Met Office does however believe will see sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) by mid-March, which could play havoc with the UK’s weather pattern.
According to the expert SSW causes the jet stream to snake, and in turn the UK is expected to get a period of dry, but cold weather. But, this is subject to change and wil become clearer as we get closer to the middle of the month.
Professor Adam Scaife, Head of Long-Range Forecasting at the Met Office, said: “There is now over 80% chance of a SSW occurring by the middle of the month, this could lead to some impacts on weather in the UK toward the end of March. What those impacts might be will become clearer nearer the time.”