2 days Ago By Emily Wright
Just a few days into the New Year and the UK is set to battle an Arctic storm of unsettled weather conditions and several centimetres of snow, turning weather maps dramatic shades of purple and white for around a week. WXCharts maps generated on New Year’s Day indicate that snow is set to blanket the South of England and the Scottish Highlands from January 4, with the Midlands being spared on this occasion. England should expect to see several centimetres of snow per hour, while the Highlands could see depths of around 25 centimetres.
By Sunday (January 5), the snow over the South of England is shown to be replaced by rain, with the cold weather moving northwards to blanket Birmingham and Manchester . Snow will continue to fall over the Lake District and also in the Scottish Highlands, with depths of a couple of centimetres. Moving into Monday (January 6), the Midlands will continue to see several centimetres of snow an hour, with Northern Ireland now also set for a battering.
While much of the south will be under a band of rain, some areas around Southampton to the west coast are also predicted to receive up to a couple of centimetres of snow. The Met Office has issued a 44-hour yellow weather warning for large parts of the country, with it warning that up to a 1ft (12 inches) of snow could fall between 12pm on Saturday (January 4) and Monday (January 6). It warns of possible power cuts with services such as mobile phone coverage possibly impacted, as well as a chance of road travel delays and delays and cancellations to rail and air traffic.
By January 7, most of Wales and the area around Birmingham will be buried underneath around 25 centimetres of snow, while the rest of the country also contends with flurries of several centimetres an hour. January 8 through to January 10 will continue to see similar conditions across the UK, with Birmingham now also expected to see around 25 centimetres of snow, while the south coast will receive several centimetres as well. The snowy weather is set to continue until at least January 11, with almost the entire UK having received at least a couple of centimetres of snow.
In Wales and the Scottish Highlands, this could be as much as 30 or 31 centimetres. The Met Office ’s long-range forecast for the period of January 6 to January 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.".
