New weather maps have shown the exact moment Britain will be blasted by a 630-mile ice bomb as large swathes of the country are set to be blanketed with snow. According to forecasters at WXCharts, the UK will be covered in snow and ice all the way from the top of Scotland down to Bristol, with the white stuff falling at up to 10mm per hour in some locations.
Manchester, Sheffield, and Edinburgh are set to be the worst affected, seeing the deepest snowfall, but southern areas including Birmingham, Oxford, and Cambridge will also see a reasonable-sized covering.
Weather maps also predict temperatures will plummet as some northern locations such as Edinburgh and parts of Lancashire will experience chilling lows of -1 to 0C while most of the UK will see an average low of 3C.
The forecaster says snow will hit on Saturday, February 24, with the majority of the UK seeing at least some snowfall with just London, the north west of England, and the south of Wales likely to avoid the downfall.
However long-range snow forecasts should be taken with a pinch of salt, with the Met Office saying it is difficult to predict when it will fall more than two days in advance.
Along with heavy snowfall, forecasters at WXCharts predict heavy rain in Manchester, Liverpool, and Newcastle, with lighter drizzle in Birmingham and the Midlands.
In its long-range forecast for the period between Friday, February 16, and Sunday, February 25, the Met Office has not predicted snow and instead forecasts “outbreaks of rain or drizzle”.
The forecast read: “This period will likely begin with cloud and rain moving away from east or southeast Britain to give a brief more settled spell with patchy overnight fog or frost.
“How long this drier weather lasts is uncertain, as mild, cloudy conditions with outbreaks of rain or drizzle are expected to return from the west or southwest either later in the first weekend or early the following week.
“Further into the period, spells of wet and windy weather remain likely, these probably more focussed than usual across the south and southwest UK, while there is a higher chance of colder, brighter interludes across the north.
“Towards the second weekend, there is a chance that less changeable conditions may become more widely established.”
Before that, the Met Office expects a day of “sunny spells and showers” in the UK today with most rain restricted to the north west of the country. But by tomorrow evening the forecaster says rain will have reached the rest of the UK.
For Wednesday to Friday, its forecast read: “Generally unsettled on Wednesday and Thursday, with wet and rather windy weather affecting most areas at times.
“Mild though, perhaps becoming somewhat drier and less windy on Friday.”
Today:
A day of sunny spells and showers, the showers most widespread in the northwest, where they will be blustery, and could turn wintry over some hills. Further south and east any early showers will fade, leaving it mostly fine.
Tonight:
Clear spells and showers. Showers remaining heaviest, most widespread and blustery in the northwest, with snow on high ground. Patchy frost and ice. Rain arriving in the far southwest later.
Tuesday:
Heavy blustery showers in the far north. Elsewhere sunshine and isolated showers. However, cloud thickening from the southwest, with rain reaching much of England, Wales and Northern Ireland by evening.
Outlook for Wednesday to Friday:
Generally unsettled on Wednesday and Thursday, with wet and rather windy weather affecting most areas at times. Mild though. Perhaps becoming somewhat drier and less windy on Friday.
