An incredible series of weather maps are showing that the UK will be battered by a rare weather event days after Storm Isha and Storm Jocelyn wreaked havoc on the country.
Weather maps from WXCharts show that temperatures will plummet and parts of Scotland will be hit by a phenomenon known as freezing rain at around 12 noon on January 30.
When this falls, freezing rain can make driving very hazardous and potentially exacerbate flooding caused by Storms Isha and Jocelyn smashing into Britain this week.
Freezing rain is an incredibly potent phenomenon whereby liquid rain freezes the moment it hits a cold surface. The Met Office explained that it is not something that happens often in the UK and that “quite specific” conditions are needed for it to occur.
As well as causing icicles to form on cars and buildings, the Met Office warn that freezing rain can cause serious devastation. They said: “However, it is not just these eye-catching scenes which the freezing rain can bring.
“The weight of the ice can sometimes be heavy enough to bring down trees and power lines, and the glaze of ice on the ground effectively turns roads and pathways into an ice rink. The freezing rain can also prove extremely hazardous for aircraft.”
On how the droplet becomes ice when it hits a cold surface, the Met Office explained: “Freezing rain tends to start its life as snow, ice, sleet or hail, but passes through a layer of air that’s above 0 °C on the way down to the ground, melting into a liquid water droplet.
“If these droplets then fall through a zone of sub-zero air just above the ground, they become supercooled. When these supercooled droplets strike surfaces that are close to or below freezing, they freeze on impact forming a glaze of ice.”
Freezing rain is just one of the dangers associated with winter weather affecting Britons in recent months. This week, the country has been assaulted by Storm Isha and Storm Jocelyn, raising questions about why the country is seeing so many storms this early into the year.
On why, there have been so many storms this year, Meteorologist and Presenter for the Met Office Annie Shuttleworth said the position of the jet stream had been the main catalyst for the wet and windy weather.
Ms Shuttleworth explained: “While we have had some drier and calmer interludes, the stormy nature of the UK’s autumn and winter so far is chiefly dictated by the position and strength of the jet stream, which is a column of air high up in the atmosphere.
“The jet stream greatly influences the weather we experience in the UK and during recent months this has largely been directed towards the UK and Ireland, helping to deepen low-pressure systems.
“These systems have been directed towards the UK and have eventually become named storms due to the strong winds and heavy rain they bring.”
