Wet weather and cold Arctic air are expected to bring ‘difficult, slippery conditions’ to the UK today, the Met Office said, with snow possible in some northern parts of the country.
If you’ve been out of the door today yet, you’ll have noticed it’s chilly – and colder weather is set to come, with Scotland and Northern England expected to see snow, and the whole of England warned of the potential for a ‘rise in deaths’ due to the weather.
The ‘notable change’ comes after much of the UK and Ireland was battered with torrential rain and gusts by Storm Claudia, including unprecedented floods in Monmouth, where the high street was underwater.
The weather for the next seven days will be ‘markedly colder’ than it was last week, with ‘harsh frost’ expected towards the end of the week, the forecaster said.
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Cold weather warnings have been issued by the UK Health Security Agency, with North West and North East England covered by an amber warning from today, which will remain in place until 8am on Friday.
The Midlands and areas south of this are all covered by a yellow cold health warning, with the potential for fatalities, especially in those aged over 65 or with health conditions.
While prospects for building snowmen nationwide are unlikely, some areas will receive such a dump that it could block roads and cut off rural communities, leading to disruptions due to travel delays and power outages, with icy roads also posing a concern.
Met office meteorologist Alex Burkill said: ‘There is an area of low pressure that’s pushing its way southwards as we go through Tuesday night and into Wednesday, and that’s bringing the focus for that burst of showery rain, with a bit of sleet, bit of hill snow mixed in, but a lot of that is going to be clearing away towards the south as we go through the morning.
‘I’m not sure how much wintry stuff we’re going to see across the southern areas, mostly just falling as rain. Then once that clears away, we just have this brisk northerly wind that’s piling down, the Arctic air coming through.’
A Met Office snow warning for Wednesday and Thursday, covering North East England, the Scottish Borders and Yorkshire and the Humber, says: ‘Snow showers will feed inland from the North Sea, giving significant accumulations in places.
‘Where these are most frequent, 2-5 cm will be possible at low levels, with 5-10 cm on hills above 100 m elevation, and potentially as much as 15-20 cm above 300m.’
Some fairly strong gusts could be associated with the showers and some isolated lightning strikes are possible at times.
Where could we see snow in the UK?
According to the latest Met Office weather map, Scotland will see the most snow this evening, while on Wednesday, there will be more of a dusting in northern England, including places like Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Middlesbrough, and Hartlepool.
On Thursday, northern areas are more likely to have sleet and snow with some showers across western parts.
Scotland and the eastern side of northern England can expect snow, which might cause disruption.
Thursday night into Friday will be a ‘particularly chilly night’ as rain sweeps in across Northern Ireland and then feeds into western parts of Scotland, Wales and England.
The east will be dry and brighter, but the rain will push through later on.
Further rain is expected over the weekend, but the air will be milder, so the temperatures will rise.
A minimum temperature of -7°C was recorded on Saturday night in Tulloch Bridge, Scotland, marking the coldest night in the UK since March.
Why is it suddenly so much colder?
In other parts, warmer wetter conditions will be soon replaced by a ‘cold northerly flow’ from the Arctic, Met Office forecaster Dan Holley explained.
He said: ‘This will bring much colder conditions than of late and, whilst generally drier than recent days, there will also be a risk of wintry hazards, such as snow and ice.
‘There will be widespread frosts across the UK, with temperatures dipping as low as -7°C in places next week, and daytime temperatures staying in single figures across the country.
‘Couple this with a brisk northerly wind, and there will be a marked wind chill. This will be a notable change in our weather after a prolonged spell of above-average temperatures.’
What is a Cold health alert?
They are government warnings issued when cold temperatures are likely to have an impact on people’s health and wellbeing.
Issued by the UK Health Security Agency, they are influenced by Met Office forecasts and aim to give early warning to carers, health professionals, emergency services, government departments, and the population in general.
The core alerting season for cold runs from November 1 to March 31, while a summer alert system for heat runs from June 1 to September 30.
RAC Breakdown spokesperson Alice Simpson said: ‘There’s potential for freezing temperatures to make roads hit by heavy rain very slippery with a chance of ice.
‘We expect breakdown volumes to be around 10% higher than what’s normal for this time of year, which equates to around 1,000 more people needing our help each day.
‘Normal indicators of autumn, like fallen leaves on the road, can also become very hazardous in icy conditions as they create an extra layer between tyres and the road surface, increasing the likelihood of skidding.’
Will we have a white Christmas this year?
Snow is great in November and all, but there’s only one date of the year people want the white stuff – Christmas.
Jim N R Dale, a senior meteorologist at the British Weather Services, told Metro that predicting a white Christmas is a ‘short bet’.
A five-day forecast is as accurate as a three-day one was four decades ago – a 10-day forecast can be a coin flip, let alone 37 days away.
‘The fact we are now about to enter a proper Arctic blast in my mind lifts the chances, given we tend to stay in certain patterns of weather for months on end,’ Dale said.
He warned, however, that high-pressure and warm southerly winds could dampen our chances.
‘Although good meteorological fortune on the day itself will be absolutely necessary, my thoughts are that the odds (though still against) are slightly shorter than recent years, even for London,’ Dale added.
‘My single flake work up to and on the day could well be tough going!’
What is a white Christmas?
The bar is actually very low for this – a weather official just needs to observe a single snowflake fall on December 25.
When was the last time we had one?
Even though no one woke up to a blanket of white snow outside, it was actually in 2023. About one in 10 Met Office weather stations recorded snowfall.
The last proper white Christmas we had was 2010, with forecasters saying it was ‘unusual’ given eight in 10 stations picked up snow.
Climate change – driven by planet-warming pollution caused by humans burning fossil fuels – has made white Christmases less likely in the past 20 years, Dale added.
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