The last snowfall of winter 2024 could arrive as early as tomorrow, as maps suggest another Arctic freeze is on the horizon.
Forecasts have recently shown what appears to be a shift to a milder climate ahead of spring, with temperatures trending upwards and rain falling in bands across the UK.
Winter appears set to make one last hurrah, however, in the form of a polar system that could prompt a late February dusting of snow.
Several weather agencies have released maps showing a more wintry outlook for the last week of this month.
They predict bitter temperatures could take hold in some areas as early as this Friday and stay into the weekend before a predicted wet shift predicted by the Met Office next month.
WXCharts temperature maps show that, by early on Friday, around 6am, temperatures will plummet to zero and below.
The mercury could dip to -1C in Scotland and dwindle in the low single figures – between 1C and 3C – by 9am on February 23.
The temperatures will barely rise over the day, reaching between 4C and 6C south of the Scottish border and between 2C and 4C in Scotland.
Maps from Ventusky show the “feels like” temperature will drop to 0C across much of the country and stay there much of the day.
Snow will develop over the Scottish Highlands and broadly across Wales during that time and in limited parts of England.
The WXCharts maps show a broad snowy system covering Cheltenham, Northampton, Worcester and other communities below Birmingham.
Weather forecasters expect there is a possibility that the trend of quickly dipping temperatures and snow could continue into Spring after March 1.
Jim Dale, a senior meteorological consultant and founder of British Weather Services, said there is “every chance” that snow could fall across the UK in Spring.
He said the colder, snowy weather is “most likely in the north, most likely short-lived” and “unlikely to be in the first week”.
He added that ice and frosts would be “far more prevalent” than snow where the weather is coldest and that, while Britons would need to wait to see if there is any significant snowfall, wintry weather is still a “characteristic” of March.
He said: “In reality, we will have to wait and see where any dislocation of the polar vortex ends up going, but although March is a spring month, wintry weather is more often than not a characteristic.
The Met Office long-range forecast, which covers February 27 to March 7, states that rain, not snow, will be the dominating precipitation in the coming month.
The forecast states: “A dry start to this period is most likely in the south of the UK, with some night-time frost and perhaps patchy fog, but rain will already be making its way into northern parts of the UK on Tuesday, spreading south.
“This sets the scene for a generally unsettled pattern that is likely to continue through to early March.
“Spells of rain are expected across all areas at times, wettest overall in the west and northwest, where it will also sometimes be windy.
“Temperatures are most likely to be around or a little above average, though some short-lived colder interludes that would allow sleet or snow to fall to lower levels are possible at times, these more likely in the north.”
