The start of 2024 promises to be a chilly one, with a polar vortex expected to swirl around the UK during the middle of January, bringing with it Arctic conditions.
Met Office forecasters always maintain that snow cannot be accurately predicted more than two days before the date in question. However, long term maps from WXCharts show that Britain may be in for more than just a touch of frost when the new year dawns.
From the northern tip of Scotland all the way down to West Midlands and South Wales, the country may be blanketed in snow on January 10.
Unsurprisingly temperatures are expected to plummet between now and then, with the mercury potentially reaching -7C on January 9 in the Scottish Highlands.
According to the Met Office long forecast, which covers the period from January 4 to January 13, snow may develop in northern areas of the UK and over high ground, “but not exclusively so by any means”.
The experts said: “This period will start in an unsettled fashion, with showers in many places, and these will be heavy at times, with temperatures around normal for early January. During the rest of the period there will be a gradual trend towards more settled and somewhat colder conditions with some frosty nights (perhaps becoming widespread and severe in time).
“Occasional unsettled spells are still possible, but these generally much more regionalised, and infrequent than conditions of late. As temperatures fall, the chance of any precipitation falling as sleet and snow increases, particularly over high ground and especially over northern parts of the UK, but not exclusively so by any means.
“As well as frost and ice by night, some freezing fog is likely to develop as well.”
Looking forward to the remainder of the month, the Met Office predicts that there is a “greater” chance of Brits being impacted by “cold, ice and snow”.
The forecasters said of the period from January 14 to January 28: “Compared to normal, there is an increased chance of colder than average conditions during this period. Currently the chance of widespread severe cold is still deemed low, but still the risk of impacts from cold, ice and snow is greater than normal.”
