New weather maps indicate that a 12-hour Arctic storm is set to hit the UK next week, with snow potentially falling at a rate of 5cm per hour across large parts of the country. The maps, produced by WXCharts using Met Desk data, show almost all of Britain turning purple on Saturday, January 25, signalling heavy snowfall.
Snowfall is expected to begin at midnight in the West Midlands, north-east, north-west, and parts of Scotland, affecting cities including Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness. By 6am, a vast area from Southampton to Inverness could be covered in snow, with temperatures averaging 0C across the country and dropping to -1C in Edinburgh.
Snow depth charts for midday on January 25 show accumulations of up to 7cm near Manchester and 8cm in the Scottish Highlands. The Met Office has warned that a blast of cold air from Europe could increase the chance of snowfall as the end of January approaches.
In its forecast for January 22 to January 31, the Met Office noted that while a milder, wetter and windier scenario is most likely, there remains a small chance that colder air from Europe may continue to feed into northern Britain, especially at first, increasing the likelihood of snowfall. Towards the end of January, further periods of strong winds and heavy rain are expected from the Atlantic, with generally mild conditions but some large day-to-day temperature changes possible.
