A chaotic storm with winds of up to 80mph could batter parts of Britain already caked in snow and ice just days beforehand. That’s according to a meteorologist who has predicted Scotland and parts of northern England could be in the firing line once again this weekend.
Large swathes of Scotland, northern England, Northern Ireland and highlands in Wales are currently under a yellow weather warning for snow and ice issued by the Met Office. This is not due to expire until Wednesday.
Despite this, much of the country will still endure sub-zero mercury until at least the end of this week. Leeds will see highs of -4C, while Yorkshire could plunge to lows of -8C on Thursday with temperatures not due to recover until Sunday afternoon, when thermometers could bounce back up to between 0C and 2C.
But the sudden uptick in temperatures could spark the beginning of a whole new weather pattern for Britain, according to Jim Dale, a senior meteorologist for British Weather Services.
He has predicted a surge of unpredictable and unsettled conditions creeping in across the nation from Saturday morning – and for some snow-hit areas, it means another round of extreme weather to contend with.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, he said: “For the moment it looks like it’s heading just to the north of Scotland – with the highest winds on its southern flank over Scotland, especially northern Scotland.
“It will still be windy elsewhere, especially in the north on western coasts. The precise details of its severity should become known within 24 to 48 hours time.”
In terms of how severe things may get, he added: “We’re looking at 70-80mph for northern Scotland at the moment, and 50mph to 70mph progressively southwards. A 35mph to 45mph in most other areas, but it’s all subjective as yet.”
In areas such as Merseyside, which experienced its first taste of snow on Tuesday – it could spark a rapid thawing of snow and replace it with a flood risk.
Weather maps show violent gusts up to 180mph pushing in off the Atlantic from Sunday morning with Northern Ireland in the initial frame. Throughout the day, the winds are expected to pick up – with a vertical stream battering regional areas throughout the afternoon.
An aggregated mean wind map – which shows the pattern and speed of gusts as they approach the UK – categorises the strength of the winds as being one away from a category one storm. Although they are expected to downgrade to severe gales as they make landfall.
Maps currently suggest this cyclone-type weather pattern will continue to surround Britain until at least Tuesday, when the current Norwegian blast, responsible for snow and ice, begins to retract.
The Met Office has alluded to stormy conditions in its long-range forecast which depicts how the UK will look from January 20 to 29.
It says in full: “Over the weekend, a transition to less cold conditions will occur as Atlantic frontal systems start to arrive from the west, eventually bringing spells of rain and strong winds across all areas.
“Following this transition, rain is likely to be heavy at times across many western hills. Whilst conditions will turn milder, this transition brings the chance of some transient snow for higher ground in the north of Scotland.
“Once established by the end of the weekend, milder and wetter than normal conditions seem most likely to persist through to late-January, although the south could have some drier spells of weather at times, especially later in the month, when the chance of overnight frost and fog increases once again.”
