Well, there goes our dreams of balmy spring time walks in March – weather forecasters have warned that the UK is going to get a freezing blast of sub-zero temperatures next month.
There’s been a whole lot of chat recently about snow hitting the UK this week due to a phenomenon called Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW), but now Met Office forecasters have confirmed that it will arrive in a few weeks instead.
Sigh, we won’t bother packing away our winter coats just yet in that case.
The Met Office says that between March 8 and March 22: “In this period, spells of rain or snow, are more likely than earlier in the month, with a low chance that some wintry episodes could be disruptive, though northwestern areas most likely to see the driest conditions.
“Winds could often be from a northerly or easterly direction, and temperatures are more likely to be below-average than above-average overall, but later in the month, colder air will be fighting against a strengthening sun.”
BBC Weather has said similar, with its forecast for the same time period reading: “If this colder set-up evolves as expected, then we could see wintry showers coming from the east, with low pressure edging up from the south.
“Southern areas of the UK could become more susceptible to increasing precipitation than the north. However, it’s too early to speculate on its exact nature yet.”