Brits are set for more icy weather later this month with maps showing heavy snow and rain set to fall amid sub-zero temperatures as freezing polar air moves across the country
Weather maps have turned purple for later this month as a snow bomb pummels Britain with a 685-mile-wide wall of wintry showers.
We are in the middle of a cold snap this week and there is no end in sight for the icy weather, with maps showing freezing air meeting a low system moving in from the Atlantic at the end of the month.
Temperatures will drop below or close to zero up and down the country on March 26 and where the cold air meets the rain clouds it will fall as snow with purple clouds stretching from northern Scotland down to the Midlands. While the rain clouds will continue all the way down to Southampton.
Maps from WXCharts show that most of Scotland will be covered under snow. Areas around Portree, Fort William, and Wick will be the worst impacted by the blizzards and there will be heavy showers in the south of England where they could be up to 10mm of rain falling per hour earlier in the morning of March 26.
Forecasters have predicted a sudden stratospheric warming event which is causing the bitterly cold temperatures. The polar vortex is essentially a swirling mass of very cold air that sits above the Earth’s poles. When it weakens, it can cause the jet stream to become more erratic, potentially allowing icy Arctic air to sweep southwards.
These changes are notorious for triggering heavy snowfall, extensive blizzards, and a sharp decline in temperatures, fuelling speculation about an imminent bout of severe weather. The temperature on the night of March 26 will drop to -3C in Scotland, while it will be close to zero in northern England and low single figures in the south of the country.
The Met Office forecast from March 17-26 reads: “The dominant area of high pressure will gradually drift away to the east of the UK through the early part of next week. So initially there should be a good deal of dry weather with sunny spells by day, but still some chilly nights with frost in places.
“The odd fog patch is possible in the north, and a brisk breeze across the south will make it feel chilly here when out of the sun. Beyond that we will see a gradual transition to less settled conditions. So rain or showers are expected at times, mostly focussed across the south at first, then more widely later. With winds predominantly coming from the south next week it will also become much milder, possibly warm in places.”