2 days Ago By Astha Saxena
Snow is likely to hit Britain for eight days straight as the latest weather maps have turned white indicating the possibility of cold weather. According to the maps from WXCharts, parts of the country will begin to witness flurries and later thick snowfall from January 4 and it will spread across till January 11. The whole week is likely to remain extremely cold with temperatures plunging to even -11C in some areas, maps have suggested.
According to WXCharts maps, a polar storm will begin to hit areas in the southern parts of the country first and then later moving upwards to the northern areas. On January 4, areas around Cardiff, Manchester and Birmingham will witness snowy conditions with 5cm of snow per hour possible in these parts. Temperature levels may hover around -1C to 0C during that period, maps have suggested.
However, as the week progresses, the cold snap quickly moves to the northern part with areas around Fort William, Wick and Portress freezing at -10C on January 9. By January 11, almost the entire country will be under the cold snap as the maps have turned white depicting the areas covered under snow. It comes days after the Met Office issued yellow warning of snow for many parts of the country as we stepped into the New Year.
Dan Holley is a deputy chief forecaster for the Met Office . He said: “An Atlantic frontal system is likely to move across parts of central and southern UK through the weekend. With milder, moisture-laden air engaging with the cold conditions already in place this may bring a spell of snow in some areas, before possibly turning back to rain in the south.
“At this stage there is a fair amount of uncertainty over exactly which areas will see disruptive snow, with parts of Wales, northern England and the Midlands most likely to see some impacts. Here we could see 5cm or more in quite a few areas, and perhaps as much as 20-30cm over high ground, including Wales and the Pennines. Coupled with strengthening winds this could lead to drifting, making travelling conditions difficult over higher-level routes in particular.
“We’ve currently issued a Yellow warning for snow covering a large part of England, Wales and southern Scotland to cater for possible disruption over the weekend, but it’s quite likely this will be refined over the coming days as confidence in the forecast increases. So it’s worth keeping up to date with the latest warnings.” The Met Office ’s long-range forecast between January 6 and 15 reads: “Much of this period is likely to remain colder than average, with an ongoing risk of ice and frost.
“There will also likely be wintry or snow showers at times along coastal areas exposed to onshore winds, these occasionally feeding farther inland, but interspersed with some lengthy dry and clear spells. “Some longer spells of rain, with some sleet and snow possible, may push into southern areas in particular as Atlantic frontal systems attempt to make some progress into the UK, perhaps also introducing something briefly milder. “Towards mid-January there may be a trend towards less-cold conditions more generally, but perhaps with high pressure nearby which could provide fairly settled conditions with an increasing chance of fog.
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