The UK is set to be hit with a 15-day snow bomb in the first few weeks of 2024.
A Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) has been forecast which could cause snow in parts of Scotland and northern England.
This is when the polar vortex over the Arctic is disrupted by large atmosphere waves which get pushed higher into the atmosphere.
If atmospheric waves are strong enough, they can weaken the winds of the polar vortex so much that they reverse from being westerly to easterly.
This leads to cold air descending and warming rapidly, with a sudden jump in temperature and potential for snow.
Netweather has said the SSW is most likely to happen in the first 10 days of January.
Forecaster James Madden told GB News: “There are now strong indications for a major SSW to occur during the early part of January and, if it does, many parts of the UK can expect to end up in the freezer with snow events and severe cold weather.”
Met Office forecaster Dan Stroud said: “Into the New Year, high pressure will bring an increased chance of prolonged spells of cold weather. There’s some potential there for wintry hazards, more so than the past few years for January.”
Met Office five-day forecast
Today, there will be outbreaks of rain spreading northwards, with snow in Scotland. There will be clearer conditions to the south and coastal gales in northern Scotland, with the potential for storm-force winds.
Tomorrow will see locally heavy showers pushing in from the west, with some areas of hail.
It will be brighter with some showers and wind on Friday, as well as some hill snow. Saturday will be cloudier and breezier with rain later in the evening. And Sunday will have showers and sunny spells.
