Thread: Snow, Sleet, Ice, Very Cold Temps To Cover All England

Weather: Snow For UK On Wintry Weekend

Severe cold, ice, sleet and snow are set to strike all of England, according to warnings issued by the Met Office.

8:54am UK, Saturday 12 January 2013


Snow in Northumberland on Friday

The Met Office has issued a weekend weather warning with snow expected to blanket most of England.

The Level 2 Alert warns there is a high risk of severe cold, icy and snow conditions from now until Tuesday.

The alert highlights all of England as being at risk.

Sky News weather presenter Isobel Lang said temperatures will plummet today, heightening the risk of sleet or snow.

"Outbreaks of rain across southern Britain will turn to sleet or snow," she said.

"At this stage around 5cm to 10cm (2in to 4in) of snow is possible over more hilly areas with nearer 2cm to 5cm over some low-lying areas later.

Some snow may fall in London."

She added: "Some more significant snow is possible into Monday, and this could bring disruption across central and eastern Britain - so keep an eye on the forecast."

Sunday is likely to be even colder than today. However it may be brighter although temperatures will remain just above freezing point.

The Level 2 Alert issued by the Met Office
The Met Office warned: "The snow event on Monday may bring 2cm to 5cm (0.75 to 2in) quite widely across England as it spreads southeastwards, with greater than 5cm falling over hills.

"This warning may be extended early next week."

Light snow is already falling over high ground in Scotland this morning.

The Met Office also warned of the dangers of cold ahead of the weekend, especially those who are most vulnerable.

It said: "Prolonged periods of cold weather can be dangerous, especially for the very young, very old or those with chronic diseases.

"If you want more information about how cold weather can affect your health please visit www.nhs.uk.

"If you are concerned about your health or somebody you care for, please contact NHS Direct on 0845 4647, www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk, or your local pharmacist."

A Level 2 Alert means there is a 60% risk of either heavy snow or widespread ice, or temperatures below 2C for 48 hours or longer.

The highest cold weather alert the Met Office can issue is Level 4, which is classified as a national emergency.

The RAC warned it was expecting up to 56,000 breakdowns and widespread disruption as the snow affects roads.

It has placed extra patrols on stand-by to help stranded drivers and said call-outs are expected to rise by 20% or more.

Related stories See Sky Weather For The Latest Forecast


Weather: Snow For UK On Wintry Weekend

RELATED

12 January 2013 Last updated at 17:07

Sudden stratospheric warming responsible for UK's icy blast

By John Hammond BBC Weather


Peter Gibbs explains sudden stratospheric warming and why it's often linked to outbreaks of cold weather.

A snowy chill is arriving across the UK, with all the fun and chaos which that entails. Most of us can expect to be impacted by the wintry weather this week, a shock for many after such a benign start to the season.

Yet the beginnings of this change in the weather can be traced back to strange goings-on, miles above us in the atmosphere, many days ago.

For a few weeks now, forecasters have been monitoring an abrupt jump in temperatures way up in the stratosphere - not a cooling, but actually a sudden warming.

Such sudden stratospheric warmings (SSW) have led to notable cold spells in recent years.

In January 2009, forecasters saw such an event coming down the tracks, and by early February, most of the UK was under a blanket of snow.

Not every SSW event leads to a bitter spell for us in the UK, and not every cold spell is caused by SSW - the atmosphere is far more complicated than that.

But SSW is a powerful tool for forecasters, and in the last few days, confidence has been growing that this particular SSW is about to have a big impact on our weather. Indeed snowfall is anticipated across the UK in the next few days.

A difficult outlook? So the cold and snowy weather is with us. But how long will its magic and mayhem last? The honest answer is that we do not know.

SSW events not only throw the atmosphere into disarray, they also present huge challenges for computer models in predicting what happens next.


Spaghetti chart 1000-5000hPa valid 12z 12/01/2013


Spaghetti chart 1000-5000hPa valid 12z 15/01/2013


Spaghetti chart 1000-5000hPa valid 12z 18/01/2013

Normally we can be quite confident in our predictions for up to a week ahead. But not at the moment.

The graphic on the right shows how the computer currently "sees" the atmosphere. The blue area indicates cold, and green indicates warm. We in the UK are very definitely cold - as if you needed reminding!

As we run the computer prediction forward over a few days, we can see that the cold and warm boundaries remain clearly defined. The UK remains very much in the cold.

However, as we look further ahead, just four or five days, the boundary becomes increasingly blurred, and within a week, the computer prediction is completely disordered. It may stay cold, it may get warmer. We do not know. In fact anyone who tells you definitively what next week's weather will be like is whistling in the wind.

Meteorologists call this a "spaghetti plot", and you can see why.
So, forecasters are facing a huge challenge. Until the effects of this Sudden Stratospheric Warming wear off, predictability beyond just a few days is unusually low.

What we can say is that for the foreseeable future, we will remain in the grip of cold weather and we must enjoy or endure as best we can.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/20998895