Britain is likely to be plunged by heavy snow as new weather maps have turned white and purple, depicting heavy snowfall in the days leading up to Christmas. New weather maps from WXCharts show northern parts of Scotland and southern areas in England will be caked with snow as we approach the end of the year.
According to the maps, the accumulation of snow is set to commence on December 21 and persist until December 28 – with Britain being battered by snow seven days on the trot.
The weather situation will take an extreme turn on December 25, 27, and 28 as maps suggest a 30-40cm depth of snow in some parts of the country – predominantly on higher ground in areas like the Scottish Highlands.
The latest weather maps turn icy blue from December 22 to December 29 and could see many parts of the UK shivering in temperatures that could plummet to as low as -11C in Scotland and -3C in northern England.
Areas around London, Southampton and Plymouth could also see some snow showers with maps depicting 1-2 depth of snow during that period. However, other areas in England such as Manchester, Leeds, and Newcastle could see a 9cm fall of snow on Christmas Day.
Annie Shuttleworth provided coverage of the lead-up to Christmas in the 10-day trend video featured on the Met Office website.
In the video, the Met Office forecaster said: “From Saturday to Tuesday, we’re looking at three maps – the Met Office model, the European model, and the American model. A clear trend emerges: showers intensify in Scotland with heavy rain in Northwestern England and Scotland. Conversely, there’s minimal, if any, rainfall in the southern regions of England over the weekend.”
Ms Shuttleworth continued, “High pressure dominates to the south, while low pressure prevails to the north. I anticipate milder temperatures.” The forecast for the following week, starting December 20, brings about another change. “High pressure shifts farther south,” explained Annie, adding, “But as we approach the Christmas weekend, expect the pressure to move even further south.”
The Met Office anticipates a “subtle change” next week, introducing “unsettled weather” more broadly across the UK. Annie elaborated: “This allows weather fronts to make progress, and temperatures are expected to trend downward. While southern areas are expected to remain mostly dry, occasional rain cannot be ruled out.”
From December 21 onwards, the most likely scenario involves a shift in the north-westerly wind direction, leading to cooler conditions in the north and west. This indicates colder weather in those regions but predominantly dry conditions in the south and east.
“We expect plenty of dry, bright weather, but the colder conditions could intensify,” Annie noted. She acknowledged the potential for some snow showers but expressed skepticism about widespread snowfall. Annie predicted that any snow would likely affect northern areas and higher elevations rather than lower levels.
Jim Dale, senior meteorologist at British Weather Service recently told Express.c.uk that snow could come before the big day.
He said: “It’s more likely ‘The Nightmare before Christmas’ with Arctic air in situ from December 21 to 24 – a snow fest for the north, less impact further south but even they’re not out of the woods.“There’s milder air pushing in from the south west Christmas Eve/Christmas Day but Scotland remains in the freezer with further snow. At least that’s how it looks right now.”
Today:
A band of mostly light and patchy rain will move southeast across England and Wales, lingering across southeast England during the afternoon. To the north and west skies will brighten, although blustery showers will affect northern and western Scotland.
Tonight:
Cloud will clear from southeast England, whilst a few blustery showers continue to affect the far north and west of Scotland overnight. Clear spells elsewhere, with patchy fog and frost.
Friday:
Dry for many with bright or sunny spells. However, a blustery day in the north, with isolated showers at first, then thickening cloud feeding rain across Scotland from the west.
Outlook for Saturday to Monday:
Mostly dry in the south and east on Saturday with some sunshine. Windier further north and west with some rain. Very mild. Rain slowly moving south through Sunday and Monday.
