The Met Office has pinpointed areas of England forecast to face blizzards as Arctic conditions could make a brutal comeback. Although the weather has been relatively mild of late, forecasters are warning that a colder spell will return by the end of the month and into the start of February.
Earlier this month, large parts of the UK were placed under Met Office weather warnings after heavy snowfall and icy conditions led to widespread disruption. Millions of people were impacted, and hundreds of schools were forced to close for several days. And now in a 10 day forecast for Saturday January 24 – Monday February 2 the weather agency warns that there is a growing likelihood of colder air into next week.
Before colder conditions set in, another spell of wet and windy weather is expected to dominate over the next few days.
A Met Office spokesperson said: “The UK will likely continue to sit in the battleground between Atlantic weather systems attempting to push in from the west, but tending to stall in the vicinity of the UK as they encounter high pressure to the north and northeast.”
This means “further spells of rain or showers are likely at times which may be heavy and persistent, especially in the south and west, with the best of any drier interludes in the far north and northwest”.
Several weather warnings have been issued by the Met Office, with yellow wind alerts in south-west England on Tuesday and a heavy rain warning for eastern Scotland from Wednesday to Friday.
It is likely to turn chilly through this period, bringing an increasing “risk of snow”.
A spokesperson added: “Whilst mild conditions will encroach into the south and west at times, it is likely to turn somewhat colder through this period, bringing the risk of some snow, more especially on hills in Scotland and northern England.”
