Arctic air is blasting Britain, dragging it back into the icy grip of winter after a brief flirtation with spring. This frigid relapse will keep temperatures mostly in the single digits and bring snow to many areas over the weekend.
On Friday, the Met Office issued a yellow warning for snow and ice in central and northwest Scotland. Even at lower elevations 2 to 5 cm of snow is predicted, with up to 10 cm possible over higher ground.
While Friday will bring a turbulent mix of sunshine, rain, sleet, hail, thunder, and occasionally a rainbow, the hills of Northern Ireland, the English Lakes, and the Pennines may also see a dusting of snow.
With the exception of the South East temperatures will struggle to reach double figures, and while the winds won’t be as strong as they were on Thursday, they will still be blustery enough to make sure that no one forgets how cold it is.
“A whiff of winter has returned to our weather,” said meteorologist Alex Deakin of the Met Office Showers will be squally, sharp, and generally make it feel colder. Everywhere feels colder than yesterday, and for some, a few snow flurries around.”
He believes that “some will get down to lower levels” where sleet and hail mixed in with the showers” are also likely, even though the snow is primarily expected over the hills.
The Met Office cautioned that this bitter mixture may cause ice in some places, creating dangerous driving conditions later on Friday.
The cold snap is expected to persist throughout the weekend. While daytime temperatures are still below average, Scotland and Northern Ireland can anticipate a few chilly nights.
The majority of Saturday should start out clear and sunny, with brief bursts of sunshine when the Arctic winds subside. In some places, the afternoon will be punctuated by sporadic showers of rain.
Snow-covered Buachaille Etive Mor in Glencoe, Scotland, open image in gallery
Snow-covered Buachaille Etive Mor in Glencoe, Scotland (Getty/iStock) On the other hand, Sunday is expected to be cloudier windier and more showery, with a renewed chance of wintry weather returning to the North by dusk.
After a weekend of sleet and hail the colder air is predicted to linger until early next week, at which point temperatures should finally start to rise to something marginally above the mid-March average as we approach spring.
Why is it getting colder once more?
The origin of the air currently being directed over Britain—this batch is coming straight from the Arctic—determines the country’s weather.
Warm air from the Gulf of Mexico colliding with Arctic cold in the United States caused deadly storms, tornadoes, and record-breaking hail in Illinois, setting off a chain reaction that resulted in this Arctic blast. The jet stream was propelled across the Atlantic with winds exceeding 200 mph as a result of this violent temperature clash.
Thus, a deep area of low pressure has been created close to Iceland. On Thursday, that system swept across the United Kingdom bringing with it a new supply of Arctic air.
