Large parts of the UK are set to be blanketed in snow as a 490-mile snow bomb and “rare phenomenon” is set to hit the country.
The newly released weather maps show that there is unlikely to be any let up in the harsh winter conditions that have battered Britain over the last two weeks.
Storm Bert and Storm Conall have brought destruction and misery to large parts of the country, bringing flooding and travel chaos in their wake.
But new data from WXCharts.com shows predicts that more snow and freezing conditions are on the way, with snowfall potentially stretching from John O’Groats on Scotland’s north coast, to as far south as Manchester, a whopping 490 miles away.
The mammoth snow blast is set to engulf the UK on Tuesday afternoon with other parts of the UK set to be lashed by rain.
But the UK also looks set to be hit by “freezing rain”, a phenomenon that the Met Office describe as “a rare type of liquid precipitation that strikes a cold surface, and freezes almost instantly.”
Rain often falls as snow but melts on the way to earth but on rare occasions, the ground temperature is low enough to “supercool” the rain droplet meaning that they are still falling in liquid form, even though their temperature has fallen below zero.
When this ‘supercooled’ droplet hits the ground (which is below zero too) it spreads out a little on landing, and then instantly freezes, encasing the surface in a layer of clear ice.
If the rare phenonemum does occur, it is likely to do so in the north west of England near Carlisle, signified by a tiny speck of bright orange on winter weather maps.
The Met Office has also advised that snow is possible, with a “frontal system” set to move in from the west.
Their long-range forecast predicts: “A cold and frosty start is expected on Tuesday, with some patchy freezing fog in places, which may be slow to clear.
“Cloud will increase from the west, then later rain for western parts. This may fall as snow at first across Scotland and the Highlands.
“Following a brief settled spell, further fontal systems are expected to move in from the west, more likely to bring rain and breezy conditions for much of the UK, especially northern and western parts.”
Temperatures throughout Tuesday are set to be below or around freezing in many parts of the UK, with the Scottish Highlands plummeting to minus 2 degrees whilst Manchester and Newcastle will be freezing.
The south could avoid the worst of the poor weather although heavy rain of as much as 7mm per hour is expected in many parts.
The Met Office forecast supports this, as they predict: “Towards the end of the period there are signs for more settled weather becoming amplified across the south of the UK.”
