Met Office warns of Arctic blast with 4 inches of SNOW, ice and minus 7C freeze on the way in which – however says we might even see the solar tomorrow!
Brits are bracing for an Arctic blast with up to four inches of snow, ice and minus 7C temperatures on the way.
Two yellow weather warnings for wintry weather are in force across parts of Scotland and northern England until midday today.
An Arctic maritime air mass is bringing colder conditions from the north of Scotland southwards with outbreaks of rain expected early this morning, the Met Office has said.
In response to the forecast, the UK’s Health Security Agency has issued yellow alerts for cold weather across northern England and the Midlands from 6am this morning until 8am on Monday.
They warn the weather is likely to have ‘minor impacts on health and social care services, including increased use of healthcare services and a greater risk to life of vulnerable people’.
It comes after an extraordinarily wet start to the year for the UK so far, with rivers bursting their banks, hundreds of properties flooded and rain falling every single day in some areas.
An Arctic Maritime air mass is bringing colder conditions from the north of Scotland southwards with outbreaks of rain expected early this morning
Two yellow weather warnings for wintery weather are in force across parts of Scotland and northern England until midday today
Traffic in the snow at Glenmore yesterday as yellow weather warnings were issued for parts of Scotland
More than 75 areas of the country are still being warned to expect flooding as downpours continue, with no sign of a prolonged dry spell for at least a week.
Tomorrow, however, is set to be the driest day for a while – with the whole of the UK expected to see some sunshine.
The weather will stay cloudy with rainfall across the south today but it is likely to clear later on, forecasters have said.
The Met Office said there may light dustings of snow on low ground while on hills above 984ft, accumulations of around two inches are possible, and up to four inches ‘very locally’.
Temperatures will stay below average this weekend with the Met Office saying snow showers and icy roads might lead to some travel disruption.
A spokesperson for National Rail said: ‘Please check National Rail before you travel – snow and ice can affect rail journeys.
In northern England, a yellow weather warning for snow and ice has been issued from 7pm on Thursday until midday on Friday.
Flooded fields near Burrowbridge in Somerset on February 10 as relentless downpours continue
The UK Health Security Agency has announced cold health alerts from Friday to Monday
Forecaster Marco Petagna said: ‘We’ve got colder air starting to feed in from the north and that’s gradually going to push its way south across all parts for the next 24 hours or so.
‘As the air sinks down from the north, we’re going to see outbreaks of rain, with some snow mainly on the hills, although across parts of Scotland, it’s quite low levels, as things turn a bit more showery tonight.
‘Until midday tomorrow, there’s a couple of snow and ice warnings out for Scotland and Northern England.’
The forecaster said to be ‘wary’ of ice and snow, with potential disruption to transport.
Mr Petagna said there will likely be ‘widespread frost’ on Friday night, but added that Saturday will probably be ‘the best day we’ve seen for some time’ with ‘a lot of sunshine across the UK’.
He said the temperatures will be ‘cooler than average’ but this will be ‘offset by the sunshine’.
A vehicle passes through floodwater on Houndsfield Lane in Birmingham on Monday
The Arctic blast comes after a record-breaking month of rain, which became the wettest January on record for Cornwall in south-west England and County Down in Northern Ireland, according to the Met Office.
The forecaster said many have been left with a sense that winter has been ‘stuck on repeat’, with 26 of its weather stations setting new records for January rainfall.
The UK has already seen 89 per cent of the average rainfall expected for meteorological winter (December, January and February) – while England has exceeded it by 11 per cent, it said.
Parts of Devon, Cornwall, Worcestershire, Somerset and West Sussex have recorded more than 30 consecutive days of rain, while North Wyke in Devon, Cardinham in Cornwall, and Astwood Bank in Worcestershire have seen it rain for more than 40 days – every day of the year so far.
