Met Office warnings: Amber alert issued as 8 inches of snow to batter Britain TODAY
UK weather: Met Office warn for snow and ice
The Met Office has issued an amber snow warning for parts of Scotland and northern England today (January 13) from 3pm until 10am on Thursday. The Met Office warn heavy snow could cause disruption in some areas. As much as 20cm, or approximately eight inches, of snow could fall in some areas under warning.
The Met Office amber snow warning reads: “Rain will turn to snow across Scotland on Wednesday afternoon and evening, initially on high ground, but increasingly to lower levels.
“During Wednesday evening and night the risk of snow will extend southwards into more of northern England.
“10 to 20cm snow is likely to accumulate above 200 metres with greater amounts at higher elevations.
“Amounts at low levels (below 100 metres) are less certain, but 5 to 10cm is likely in some places by Thursday morning.
“Snow will persist into Thursday morning, slowly dying out during the afternoon.”
The Met Office has also issued a yellow snow and ice warning for a larger portion of Scotland and northern England.
The yellow snow and ice warning is active from 8am today until 9pm on Thursday, and it stretches from northern Scotland to near Sheffield.
The cities of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Leeds and Newcastle upon Tyne are impacted by the Met Office warnings.
The yellow warning reads: “An area of rain pushing north-eastwards is expected to turn snow in places as it encounters colder air across Scotland and parts of northern England.
“At first the main hazard may be of rain falling onto frozen surfaces leading to ice, especially on higher level routes.
“However snow becomes more likely later Wednesday and at least for a time on Thursday.
“Heavier snowfall is more likely above 100 m in Scotland and above 200 m in England, where 5-10cm of snow may accumulate, possibly20 cm on highest routes.
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“At lower levels, 2-5 cm of snow may accumulate in places, but the situation remains finely balanced, with the possibility that most lower-lying areas in northern England see rain or sleet rather than snow.
WXCHARTS snow depth charts, which use data from MetDesk, show heavy snow accumulation for some parts of the UK this week.
The heaviest snow depth on Thursday is forecast for parts of Scotland, where some areas could see as much as 26cm (10 inches) of snow according to the chart, while somes areas of Scotland and northern England could also see significant snow depth.
Forecasts also suggest the UK could see a return of the Beast from the East next week.
Significant snowfall blanketed the UK in February 2018, and the phenomenon was a result of sudden stratospheric warming event sent freezing winds from Siberia.
It is possible temperatures will plunge further next week, and Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said there is “very much a possibility” of a Beast from the East 2 in the “middle of next week”.
Mr Burkill said that for such weather to occur next week, “what we’d need is a blocking area of high pressure, particularly to the north of the UK, and that would then drag in that cold easterly wind”.
He said: “There are some signs that we could get something similar to that during the middle part of next week so that’s what we’re looking out for.
“It’s too early to say with any confidence, however there are some signs.
“Some models are suggesting we could get cold air coming from the east, north-east which at this time of year is very cold indeed, but it’s by no means a guarantee.”
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