Will freezing weather bring snow to UK?
Freezing temperatures across the UK are forecast to rise again to the relief of those shivering after the recent mild spell – but more misery is on the way in the form of “heavy and prolonged rainfall”.
Storm Babet will hit the UK from Wednesday, bringing with it “significant and widespread disruption”, particularly in Scotland, the Met Office said.
Most of the country has seen an abrupt end to an “Indian Summer”, which saw warm spells of up to 26°C shattered by subzero temperatures.
On Sunday, the mercury fell to as low as -4°C in Cumbria, with snow seen in Scotland’s Lecht Ski Centre – several months earlier than in 2022.
Met Office meteorologist, Jonathan Vautre, said temperatures on Sunday and Monday were “below where we would normally expect [them] to be at this time of the year”.
While the forecaster has now said to expect milder weather towards the end of this week, it has also issued a yellow weather warning for extreme rain, due to last from Thursday to Saturday.
Naming the storm on Monday, the Met Office signalled a potential for “disruptive, heavy and prolonged rainfall”.
It said: “There is a chance of extremely heavy rain from Thursday to Saturday causing flooding and disruption across central and eastern Scotland.
“The yellow rain warning, which is in place from 6am on Thursday to 11.59pm on Saturday, also brings with it a small chance of communities being completely cut off, danger to life and disruption to essential services.
“Strong southeasterly winds are likely to accompany heavy rainfall which may exacerbate impacts.”
The most affected areas included Angus, Dundee, Perth and Kinross, Stirling, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray and Highland.
Across the UK, a total of 25 alerts have been issued by England’s Environment Agency, with flood warnings already put in place across England and Wales
Set to coincide with this wet weather, though, is a momentary end to the UK’s current cold snap.
In London, temperatures should reach as high as 18°C on Thursday, according to the BBC, before coming back down to a high of 12°C on Sunday.
Of the period spanning 30 October to 13 November, the Met Office said “temperatures are likely to remain above average”.
“This period will likely be characterised by the UK being stuck in a battleground between low pressure to the west or southwest, and high pressure over Scandinavia,” they added.
“Therefore the more likely outcome is for western areas to be wettest and eastern areas to see less rainfall, but with the boundary of that discrimination not clear cut.”
