A mild period will be dramatically halted in a matter of days as forecasters predict a fresh snow deluge will hit Britain. Forecasters at Netweather and WXCharts estimate the UK will see snow from Thursday, February 29, to Monday, March 5.
Other parts of the country have a 50 percent chance of snowfall occuring, which could be more than 10cm deep. On Thursday, Scotland will be in the firing line, with wintry showers hitting Inverness and the Highlands, before it heads south into England on Friday.
By Friday snow is forecast to hit Manchester, Newcastle, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Belfast, Leeds, Harrogate, York, Middlesborough and Sunderland.
Most of the snow will then return back to Scotland on Saturday, with it predicted for almost all of the country. Early forecasts suggest it will hit only Carlisle, Leeds and the Yorkshire Dales in England. In Wales, Cardiff could also see snow on Saturday.
On Sunday snow will remain in Scotland, while in the north of England, Manchester, Newcastle, Plymouth, Leeds and Sunderland will all be hit with the white stuff as well as Cardiff in Wales.
But forecasts of snow further than two days ahead should be taken with precaution as the Met Office says it is extremely difficult to predict snow further in advance.
For five-day forecast, the Met Office predicted things would stay “largely dry and bright” today before a band of rain arrived in the south-east tomorrow.
Its outlook for Wednesday to Friday read: “Dry start on Wednesday with further rain arriving from the west, turning heavy at times through Thursday. Remaining cold and unsettled for Friday.”
Met Office forecasters have remained on the side of caution with outlooks from Friday, March 1, and Sunday, March 10, indicating it may fall and lay on higher ground.
Its long-range forecast for the period read: “It will become cooler and more unsettled from Friday and through the weekend with temperatures a little below average.
“Areas of showers sometimes banding together for longer spells of rain, this heavy at times and likely to turn wintry, even a lower levels and some snow accumulations are likely over higher ground, particularly in the west.
“Clearer spells overnight with some frost or fog patches developing. Into the following week, the pattern likely returning to occasional frontal systems affecting more northern and western areas with some more settled spells developing in eastern areas as settled conditions spread out from northern Europe.
“Remaining around average temperatures for the time of year though some short-lived colder interludes remain likely.”
