UK weather forecast: Snow set to blanket country as Arctic blast brings 'dramatically colder' temperatures

Temperatures to plummet below zero across Britain, warn forecasters

Snow could fall almost anywhere in the UK this month as temperatures plunge dramatically, according to forecasters.

The Met Office said Arctic air would end the recent spell of unseasonably warm weather this week, beginning a colder period that is set to last into February.

Temperatures will plummet to below freezing across the country at the weekend, with -5C expected even in the warmer southeast.

There is an increased risk of “severe wintry weather” later this month, with forecasters not ruling out a repeat of the so-called Beast from the East last year.

Grahame Madge of the Met Office told The Independent: “At the moment, temperatures are quite widely in double figures which for January is very high. But as we go through the week we will start to see those temperatures come down reasonably dramatically.

“On Thursday we are going to start to see a colder, northerly flow coming down from much further north. That is likely to bring some wintry showers.”

Martin Young, deputy chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said earlier this week the cold weather “would bring an enhanced risk of snow and widespread frost almost anywhere across the UK, but particularly across northern parts”.

Forecasters said it was too early to tell if there would be a repeat of the Beast from the East.

A weather system from Siberia brought parts of UK to a virtual standstill in late February and early March 2018, as heavy snow and extremely cold temperatures caused severe travel disruption and left 17 people dead.

Sudden stratospheric warming, where temperatures in the atmosphere jump swiftly, led to last year’s cold spell and occurred again above the North Pole in December.

However, forecasters said the impact on the UK this time remained uncertain.

Mr Madge said: “It does look as though we may get colder weather coming through. Whether that’s a prolonged slightly colder spell or much colder spells within that is still to be determined.”