UK temperatures will soon surge by up to 15C, an expert weather forecaster has predicted, bringing unsettled conditions to the country following a bitterly cold week.
The last few days have seen the mercury descend to bitter sub-zero lows across the country, with an amber warning in place for some areas warning Britons to steer clear of ice on roads and pavements.
On Wednesday night alone, temperatures dropped to -11.1C in Shap, Cumbria, -9.4C in Sennybridge, outside Cardiff, and -7.2C in Katesbridge, Northern Ireland.
Over the coming week, a stunning reversal predicted by forecasters could see temperatures rise by up to 15C.
But, while the country will become comparatively warmer, different inclement conditions will take hold.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, Jim Dale, the chief weather forecaster at British Weather Services, said a “sea of change” is about to unfold for the UK.
He said airmass above the country would “swap” and that the exchange would remain in place until the end of this month.
The air change could see temperatures in parts of the country surge past 10C for the first time in weeks, creating what the forecaster termed “nearly but not quite t-shirt weather”.
Mr Dale said: “Nine to 12-degree max temperatures will tend to become the norm; even the odd 15C as the days unfold.”
He added: “Much of that heat will be coming from the direction of what has been an exceptionally warm Spain, Portugal and Canaries, where January records (night & day) have been falling.”
The swap of cold for warm air will also cause “three things to happen”, the forecaster added.
Those three things include more wind, higher temperatures, and, “for some”, increased rainfall that could cause some flooding.
Heavier rain in the northwest and west Scotland, northwest England and Wales will fall on melting snow, Mr Dale said.
Together, he warned this could cause “localised flooding to occur over time”, and the Met Office has concurred with this warning.
Both Mr Dale and the Met Office have warned that strong, severe gales will accompany much of that rain, with warnings already active for Sunday, January 21 and Monday, January 22.
