Millions of Brits face blizzards at year-end with four-inch snowfalls in arctic blast
Year-end will turn chilly for millions of Brits as forecasting maps show heavy snowfalls blanketing swaths of the country on 30 December, bringing snowfalls as deep as 4 inches
An arctic blast is menacing millions of Brits at year-end as a major weather system could be just days away from bringing heavy snow across the length of the UK.
Weather modelling maps show blizzards descending on December 30. Snow looks poised to first fall in the north-west of England, blanketing Manchester and Merseyside, as well as the England-Wales border at around 9am.
Devon and Cornwall could also see snow showers. By midday, the maps reveal snow setting in along the England-Wales border, as well as over the Peak District, Yorkshire Dales and Lake District. Flurries could reach southern parts of Scotland too.
Heavier and more widespread snow is likely as the afternoon progresses. Maps for 3pm show steady snow in Devon, parts of Wales, Oxfordshire, the Midlands, and the north-west of England.
Scotland is set for less severe snowfall at this time but cities including Edinburgh might be hit. By 9pm, though, the maps show heavy snow right across Scotland.
Stirling as well as Perth and Kinross face the fiercest flurries but strong snowfalls are likely in both the Highlands and Lowlands. Light flurries are expected to continue in the north-west of England and North Wales around this time too.
Maps for the morning of December 31 reveal even more widespread snow. Snow will cover almost all of Wales, parts of Northern Ireland, most of Scotland, and a broad swath of England from Plymouth to the far north.
As much as 10cm (four inches) could fall in the Scottish Highlands. Wales could see as much as 4cm and the Pennines in northern England could get 2cm.
The Met Office says “wintry showers” could fall in some parts of the country by year-end as temperatures plunge. “A gradual transition to more settled conditions is expected, as high pressure builds to the north of the UK,” according to its forecast for December 24 to January 2.
The Met informed: “This will bring a strengthening easterly wind over the Christmas period, making it feel noticeably colder than of late. Whilst there will be a fair amount of dry weather, a few showers will still be possible, particularly across eastern and southern parts which may be wintry in places, more especially over high ground.
“High pressure will likely dominate the weather in the run up to the New Year, slowly drifting to the west. This will maintain largely settled conditions, although with an increasing chance of showery conditions later in the period.
“Temperatures will be below average much of the time, with frost likely where clear skies and light winds prevail.”
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