Scotland is likely to experience its first significant cold snap of the season next week, with temperatures potentially falling to -3C in parts of the country. The Met Office has warned that colder conditions could develop towards the end of the week, with the possibility of wintry showers as colder air moves southwards across the UK.
Cold snap begins November 11
Weather models indicate the change will start on November 11, with temperatures dropping sharply across Scotland before the colder conditions extend into England and Wales. Parts of northern Scotland could see temperatures sink to -3C by early evening, according to The Mirror.
Forecast maps show temperatures could remain below freezing across large areas on November 12, with lows of -1C in southern Scotland and Wales and -2C over the North Pennines. London could struggle to rise above 4C, while East Anglia is forecast to be the mildest region, reaching around 6C.
Chill persists into November 13
The cold spell is expected to continue into November 13. The North Pennines could again record the lowest temperatures at -1C, while evening readings of 4C are possible in London and between 2C and 3C across the Midlands and South Wales.
Temperature anomaly charts for the three-day period show conditions falling markedly below the seasonal average, suggesting an unusually cold spell for the time of year. In total, the GFS model suggests 24 counties will see daytime temperatures drop below freezing across the three days, all in Scotland, Wales or northern England.
Counties facing freezing temperatures
The 16 Scottish counties forecast to face freezing temperatures are Ross-shire and Cromartyshire, Inverness-shire, Banffshire, Argyllshire, Perthshire, Aberdeenshire, Stirlingshire, Dunbarton, Lanarkshire, West Lothian, Midlothian, Ayrshire, Dumfriesshire, Peeblesshire, Selkirkshire, and Roxburghshire.
In England, Cumbria, Northumberland, Lancashire, and Herefordshire are affected, along with the Welsh counties of Denbighshire, Merioneth, Montgomeryshire, and Radnorshire.
Met Office forecasts wintry showers
The Met Office has said wintry showers could come to some parts of the UK later this month, along with colder temperatures. Its forecast for November 9 to November 18 states: "There is a greater chance that at least the southern half of the UK will see a change to milder and wetter conditions, at least for a time, while the north is more likely to remain drier.
Toward the end of next week we may start to see some colder conditions spread from the north to much of, if not all of the UK, but while the nature of this colder outbreak is very uncertain, it could bring some wintry showers to the northern UK briefly, with the south trending drier once again."
