A 550-mile wall of snow and ice is set to hammer the UK in just days – with up to five centimetres to fall and temperatures in one region plummeting as low as -4C
Brits could be hit with a barrage of snow next week, with some parts of the country seeing temperatures dip as low as -4C, according to new weather maps.
Graphics from WX Charts forecast a 550-mile wall of snow and ice, stretching from Durness in the Scottish Highlands right down to Grimsby in Lincolnshire on Friday, December 13. The maps also predict eastern shores of the UK will likely bear the brunt of the chill – with areas including Aberdeen, Inverness, Newcastle, Skegness and Grimsby, hit by the Polar blast at 6pm.
These towns are set to welcome up to five centimetres of snow while temperatures can expect to plummet to -4C in the Scottish Highlands that night. The mercury will dip below freezing with -2C reported in central Scotland, 0C in the south of Scotland and -1C in the north west of England.
In Wales, temperatures will sit at 0C, while Birmingham will be only slightly warmer at 1C. No area appears to have fully escaped the chill as London temperatures will drop to 2C, while Plymouth will hover around the 4C mark. According to the maps, Western parts of the country look set to escape the snow for the time being.
The Polar blast will be accompanied by gusts of up to 59mph in England and Wales, with slightly weaker winds in Scotland as a mass of extremely cold air hovers over much of the British Isles.
Looking ahead at the Met Office’s long-range forecast between December 9 and December 18, there is no mention snow, but forecasters highlight the “rather cold weather” set to blast the country this time.
It reads: “High pressure looks like largely dominating the UK’s weather at first, bringing plenty of dry but rather cold weather, though a showery easterly or northeasterly flow may affect the south. Overnight frosts along with morning fog patches are probable for some regions. By the middle of next week, conditions may turn a little more unsettled for a while, with a chance of some rain moving southeast.”
Experts also warned of an “increased chance” of wet and windy weather, most likely in the north, while southern parts of the UK are likely to enjoy “drier” and “more settled”. It adds: “Temperatures varying around average with both some colder and milder spells likely through this period.”