A large plume of cold air will spiral over the British Isles next week, with maps turning a deep blue to indicate five inches of snow hitting one region and temperatures dipping to below freezing
A huge Arctic storm is headed towards the UK in a matter of days days, with multiple cities in the firing line for more heavy snow and travel chaos.
According to new weather maps from Ventusky, a large plume of cold air will spiral over the British Isles next week, with maps turning a deep blue to indicate 5 inches of snow hitting Scotland before moving further down towards the Midlands and southwest. Their data also predicts temperatures will dip below freezing, plummeting as low as -1C in the north.
On Saturday, January 25, 12cm of snow will fall between Iverness and Dundee in Scotland’s Cairngorms from 9am, with temperaturs in the surrounding areas hovering between 0C and -1C. Areas north of Glasgow are also in the path of upcoming snow, including Craig, Fort William and Strathyre.
Areas also set to turn white from Friday, January 24, into the weekend include Manchester, as well as areas north of the city up to the Lake District. Newcastle, Cardiff, Southampton and west London will also welcome the white stuff next weekend, according to WXCharts. Snow will be accompanied by chilly temperatures, with the minimum average temperature predicted to be 0C across the UK.
An Exacta Weather forecaster predicted the cold snap will arrive next week after a “temporary” phase of milder weather. James Madden warned it could be the “biggest sting” yet. He said: “We will see the cold and snow returning with a vengeance towards the end of next week and into late January and early February due to long-range and expected occurrences in the upper atmosphere that will effectively begin to drive this weather across our shores for the biggest sting of this winter to date in terms of cold and widespread snow for many parts of the UK and Ireland.”
It comes after the Met Office outlined a risk of “ice and snow” towards late January and the beginning of February. The long-range forecast for Monday 27 January to Monday 10 February reads: “A dominant flow from the Atlantic looks likely to produce an unsettled, milder and windier than average period. This is likely to result in areas of rain and periods of stronger winds affecting most if not all parts of the UK at times, though with the wettest and windiest weather probably occurring towards the north and west. However, the potential for brief colder spells with associated frost, ice and snow remains, following any deep lows crossing the region.”
