The Met Office is urging anyone staying indoors during cold weather this winter to get up and walk around every hour, rather than remain stationary. The advice applies whether conditions are merely chilly or a full-scale Polar Vortex brings snow.
El Niño and the Polar Vortex
The El Niño phenomenon could, though not yet confirmed, lead to a colder period for the UK this winter, as it disrupts cold air and pushes it towards Europe. In a weather blog published last week, the Met Office said: "Through the latter part of the winter, following a peak in El Niño, the stratospheric polar vortex (SPV) can become weaker, leading to an increased chance of Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) events unfurling, increasing the potential for cold weather."
"However, significant as El Niño is, it is important to emphasise that it alone does not determine precise weather patterns and other outcomes remain possible," the blog added.
Advice for Staying Warm and Active
If wintry and snowy weather does appear this year, the Met Office already has guidance in place for households facing an extended period indoors. In its advice on staying warm in cold weather, it urges people to do one thing every hour: get up and walk around.
The Met Office says: "With many of us having to spend more time at home it can make it harder to keep active. It’s important to continue to do what you can to stay active as this can help with both your physical and mental health. Try to keep moving when you are indoors, try not to sit still for more than an hour or so. Break up your time spent being inactive by walking around your home or standing up from your chair when you are on the phone."
Weekend Forecast
Its forecasts for this weekend show no signs of snow, but conditions could be changeable over the next week. The forecaster said the next few days will bring "a smorgasbord of weather types", including "swings from relatively balmy conditions to relatively cool", typical of autumnal variability.
Met Office Chief Forecaster Andy Page said: "Some of these showers will bring larger rainfall totals, mainly in northwestern parts of the UK. Temperatures in the south – especially in longer spells between showers – will reach around 15°C."
"Clearing skies during Saturday evening – courtesy of a transient ridge of high pressure – will bring cooler conditions overnight, with the possibility of frost in more prone spots in northern parts of the UK. On Sunday, many locations will have a dry and bright day with sunny spells, and any remaining showers will fade away."
