Snow weather: Brits face November freeze as ‘polar vortex collapse’ to send temperatures PLUMMETING
BRITS could be battling a snowstorm as early as next month, with temperatures predicted to plunge.
Forecasters say a bitter chill could blast the UK as an Atlantic weather shift moves over the country.
Unsettled weather is expected to hit the country with savage conditions towards the end of October – potentially covering some areas in a blanket of snow.
From October 20, the wettest and windiest conditions will remain in the north and northwest, while things will be more settled in the east and south.
Dry spells will continue on until the last week of October, possibly creating a white Halloween.
According to the Met Office, the colder settled period will be established by early November.
The Met Office previously warned temperatures in some areas could plummet by 10C in weeks.
Former BBC weatherman and meteorologist for Weathertrending John Hammond told The Sun: “There are signs of the stratosphere experiencing an unusual warming in the next few days, causing the polar vortex above the Arctic Circle to become less strong than normal later in October.
WEATHER LATEST
“These high-altitude winds normally intensify as we head towards winter. So an unusual weakening of the polar vortex may well have impacts on our weather later through autumn and into early winter.
“’Sudden stratospheric warming’ events can sometimes lead the polar vortex to go into reverse, which can have dramatic impacts on winter weather and increase the chances of severe cold.
“However, there are no indications yet that such a reversal will occur.
“The last time that lowland southern Britain saw significant snowfall as early as October was in 2008 – a measure of how rare it is.”
Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna added that the polar vortex weakening could “have implications for our weather going into the winter”.
The snow forecast is bad news for families hoping to head out over half term – which runs from Friday, October 22 to Monday, November 1.
Met Office press officer, Stephen Dixon added: “There is a north and south split this week, with southern areas remaining largely fine, with dry conditions, good sunny spells and warmth.
“The lion’s share of the unsettled conditions is in the northern parts of England, which can expect a chance of frost and patchy rain.
“There are highs this week of 18 degrees celsius, which are more likely in the south of England and Wales.
“There is a high pressure system in the west of the UK and our long range weather forecast has shown that unsettled conditions will move in from next week.
“In rural areas of Scotland, you can expect to see a chance of frost with night time temperatures possibly getting into minus figures.”
The expected chill comes after September was second warmest on record for the UK, with Northern Ireland having its joint warmest September on record.
CHANCE OF FROST
Scotland had its second warmest, Wales its third and England its joint third, according to provisional figures released by the Met Office.
Temperatures were 0.05C warmer globally than the same period last year.
It was also the hottest September Europe has seen, beating the previous record in 2018 by around 0.2C.
Temperatures were above average in other regions of the world including the Middle East, parts of South America and Australia.
And the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said the Siberian Arctic continued to be warmer than average.
Last month Arctic sea ice covered the smallest area since 2012.
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