Britain will be covered by a huge swathe of snow stretching from Scotland to the south of England, the latest weather maps show. South east Scotland, Northumberland and eastern Cumberland are set to see the heaviest snowfall with up to 2cm falling per hour on January 20, according to WX Charts.
Large parts of England and Wales are also set for a blanketing of snow with the Midlands, Norfolk, Suffolk and the Pennines seeing the white stuff falling. The maps generated by WX Charts using Met Desk data show the south of England avoiding snow on the same date though rain will affect parts of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Hampshire.
Snow depths up to 10cm are set for counties including Brecknockshire, Radnorshire, Monmouthshire, Glamorgan and Herefordshire by midnight on January 20.
Much of the north of England will see snowfall on Sunday, January 20, with parts of Yorkshire, Lancashire, Northumberland, County Durham and Westmorland affected along with Denbighshire and Flintshire also affected, WX Charts shows.
High pressure is bringing colder than average weather for the time of year, with a recent marked drop in rainfall after a wet start to January. The Met Office says cold and largely dry conditions will persist through much of this week, with areas in the south particularly cold compared to the average for this time of year.
It expects a northerly airflow to develop by Sunday (January 14), which the Met Office says could increase the chances of wintry hazards for some.
Will Lang from the Met Office said: “There will be a resurgence in the really cold weather through the weekend and that spreads across the whole of the UK during the early part of next week. Initially, this means there will be more in the way of showers around the coasts, turning increasingly to snow for many areas, especially further north.”
Aidan McGivern from the nation’s forecaster said next week’s weather starts with a northerly airflow and snow showers, especially near northern coasts, but there will be brighter skies for some. From the middle of next week, low-pressure tries to move in from the southwest, though its impact is still a bit uncertain, according to the Met Office.
Mr McGivern added: “Different models are saying different things in terms of the track of this low, but you have the ingredients for snow with cold air in place and additional moisture supplied from the Atlantic, which will bring rain, but on the boundary with the cold air, you could see some snow.”
He said the intensity, location or impacts of any snow next week are still uncertain, with details still to be worked out in the coming days.
Wednesday, January 10 – Sunday, January 14
Headline: Sunshine in the south and west. Cloudier elsewhere. Feeling cold
Today: Dry across most southern and some western areas with plenty of sunshine, though a cold breeze still blowing. Northern England, central and northern Wales, along with central and eastern Scotland and Northern Ireland, will be cloudier with patchy drizzle.
Tonight: Largely dry with clear periods and a frost across southern England, parts of south Wales and the west of Scotland. Cloudier skies elsewhere giving the odd spot of drizzle.
Thursday: Sunshine across the south of England becoming increasingly confined towards the southwest. Some sunny spells across western Scotland and at times Northern Ireland too. Otherwise rather cloudy with some drizzle.
Outlook for Friday to Sunday: Mainly cloudy on Friday with patchy light rain or drizzle. Brighter, but colder and windier weather slowly spreading from the north during the weekend, with some snow showers in places.
