As the UK braces for a late January Arctic blast, new weather maps have revealed that freezing rain and widespread snowfall are set to descend across parts of the country in the coming days.
According to the latest forecasts, a snowy system will start developing over much of the UK next Wednesday, January 27, moving in from the west over Wales and creeping eastwards over England before eventually engulfing a massive portion of the country stretching from London to Inverness.
The 559-mile Arctic blast is expected to create flurries powerful enough to accumulate up to two inches of snowfall widely, with some areas experiencing freezing rain as temperatures range from 2°C to as low as -4°C in Scotland.
Two distinct freezing rain showers will develop in England, both of which will take shape over high ground in two of the home nation’s most famous national parks. The first will descend over the length of the Peak District National Park at around 6am, spanning a large portion of the range. The system will gradually travel north, eventually pouring out another round of freezing droplets over the North Pennines National Landscape by midday.
The Met Office’s long-range forecast covering January 26 to February 4 states that the temperatures will turn “somewhat colder”, raising the risk of snow while rainy conditions dominate. The agency says that further spells of rain or showers are likely at times, which may be heavy and persistent, especially in the south and west, with the best of any drier interludes in the far north and northeast.
While mild conditions are expected to encroach into the south and southwest at times, it is likely to turn somewhat colder through this period, bringing the risk of some snow, most likely across hills in Scotland and northern England, but perhaps extending to other areas with time.
