Some areas of the UK may be covered by up to five inches of snow when a -2C cold period arrives next week.
New weather Indications show that the country will experience another Arctic blast causing temperatures to drop below zero.
The update comes after forecasters warned of a once-in-a-250-year weather event is underway that could bring with it bitter wintry conditions.
A Sudden Stratospheric Warning (SSW) event usually hits the UK every other year. But the Met Office says this year could see an ‘extremely rare’ trio of them.
According to forecast projection maps from WXCharts, we’ll see stormy conditions give way to snow blizzards in around a fortnight.
The far north of Scotland will be the first to see white stuff on March 19, they suggest, before flurries begin falling further south the following day.
Inverness and Aberdeen are predicted to get the most, with Edinburgh, Newcastle, Manchester, Cardiff, and Plymouth all possibly seeing some snow on the ground.
The Met Office’s long-range forecast before then, encompassing March 13 to 22, suggests conditions will turn ‘unsettled’ during the middle of the week with a possibility of overnight frost.
It says: ‘Around the middle of next week, conditions are expected to once again turn unsettled across western areas with outbreaks of rain and perhaps some strong winds, particularly in the northwest.
‘Elsewhere, mostly dry at first with some sunshine. By the end of next week, conditions are likely to become more widely unsettled with rain and showers for all regions at times, although the wettest weather is likely in the south and west, with some drier and brighter spells still likely in the north and east.
‘Showers could be heavy at times in the south, with a risk of thunderstorms here. Temperatures will be near or slightly above normal, although there is risk of some colder interludes, with overnight frost, across northern and eastern areas.’
For more stories like this, check our news page.
