UK snow forecast: Weather maps reveal exact date Britain gripped by cold plunge
Forecasters have predicted that conditions similar to 2018's infamous "Beast from the East" are possible in Europe this month.
New weather maps show the exact date Britain is set to be gripped by an icy plunge as temperatures are set to plummet once again. Weather forecasters have predicted snow and ice in the coming hours and days, following closely in the tracks of yet another named storm.
The Met Office officially named Storm Henk this morning after the severe, organised system made landfall in Britain following a turbulent New Year's Day. The forecasters predicted that wind gusts could reach up to 80mph in some areas, with the inclement conditions carrying into the evening on Tuesday, January 2.
Yellow and amber warnings issued by the agency this afternoon primarily encompass southern England and Wales, with northern England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland left largely unscathed.
Beyond the coming blustery week, Britons can expect a different kind of meteorological whiplash, with frosts and snow starting to find their way south of Scotland, a forecaster has said.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, Jim Dale, the founder and senior meteorological consultant at British Weather Services, said that after Storm Henk departs British shores the UK will become "colder and icier".
He said frosts would begin to draw south after the storm subsides, with a "hint" that snowfall could intensify going "much further forward". But Mr Dale stopped short of predicting a "Beast from the East" or "Troll from Trondheim", as conditions would likely stay dry for parts of this period.
Brits will likely be left waiting for more substantial snow, which becomes more likely beyond January 10.
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The forecaster said that, beyond that date, east coast communities may receive some of the predicted significant snowfall due to hit Europe. He said: "The east of the country may catch some of what’s expected to impact central Europe prior to mid-month.
"Where it goes from there is anyone’s guess, but my best estimate is that we will eventually take in some of the white stuff."
Maps from WXCharts show a bitter cold gripping the country from January 8, with temperatures dropping to 0C across the UK and below in Scotland.
In some cases, lows could reach between 0C and -2C in the afternoon by January 9 and as low as -6C north of the border.
Weather forecasters have predicted that "sudden stratospheric warming" above Northern Europe will bring significant snow to parts of the continent during early January.
Professor Liz Bentley, chief executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, told Sky News this warning "increases the likelihood of a prolonged cold spell across Northern Europe", and causes conditions like those seen during the "Beast from the East" that famously plagued the continent in 2018.
Professor Bentley said it is "hard to say" exactly where the SSW would hit and that she "wouldn't like to say it's likely to" arrive in the UK.