As much as eight inches of snow could come down in just a few days’ time as advanced weather modelling maps show not one, but two storms are heading to the UK. The first looks set to be a ‘Beast from the East’ and will be followed by another snowy weather front coming in off the Atlantic.
The ECMWF model maps suggest as many as 70 counties across the country could be impacted by the spell of Arctic weather, which will hit England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Snow is expected to start falling in eastern and central parts of the country on April 5, coming over from Scandinavia and stretching from Essex right up to the far north of Scotland.
Where flurries are most intense, the data suggests snow could be falling at a staggering rate of around 3cm per hour. London, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle and Edinburgh are just some of the cities that appear to be in the firing line from this initial snow blast.
In the early hours of April 6, the maps show the majority of the snow moving over to northern parts of France. There will still be some flurries continuing in central and northern parts of England around this time.
Snow depth maps for April 6 reveal the full extent of the first blizzard, with as much as 7cm (2.7 inches) settled on the ground in eastern England. Snow is expected to settle from the south coast of England right up to Inverness.
The second bout of snow will move in from the west on April 10, according to the weather maps. Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the north of England and the Midlands are expected to bear the brunt of it, with snow falling at a rate of around 5cm per hour in some places at midday.
Throughout the day the snow is expected to drift northwards, coming down hard in Scotland in the early hours of April 11. And snow depth maps for April 11 show as much as 20cm (eight inches) settled on the ground in the far north-west of Scotland. Wales, northern England and Northern Ireland can all also expect to see snow settled on the ground following this second blizzard.
BBC Weather forecasters have warned of a “colder risk” coming next month. Their forecast for April 7 to April 13 states: “The second week of April offers only slight changes in the general weather pattern initially, in that it could remain drier and somewhat calmer, with temperatures near the seasonal average or slightly above. A colder risk persists in the background, however.
“Some changes may occur in the course of this week. Low pressure could return near Greenland, with frontal systems approaching from the west and north-west, along with slightly wetter and windier conditions emerging. In view of this trend, temperatures are more likely to rise a little. Nonetheless, the long-term weather models depict increasingly diverging patterns during this period.”
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