After the US faced a powerful snowstorm over the Christmas weekend, there have been concerns a new “Beast from the East” could arrive in the UK. However, an expert from the Met Office has said strong winds and heavy rain will be more of a concern in January instead of ice and snow.
Alex Burkill, the Senior Operational Meteorologist at the Met Office, has said the rest of the New Year’s week will be “relatively unsettled but mild” and said wind and rain were more a concern than “anything wintery”.
In an interview with the Daily Star, he said: “At the moment the most likely outcome for next week, and much of January, is a continuation of the current westerly pattern we have.
“As such, it will remain changeable with temperatures generally on the mild side.”
The weather forecaster said that the -10C conditions predicted by other weathermen may happen, as the coldest temperature fell to -8.6C over the weekend in the Scottish Highlands.
He said: “Across parts of Scotland it could get as low as -7C, -8C maybe even a few degrees colder than that where there’s any lying snow.”
The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for heavy rain in Scotland, which will begin Tuesday afternoon and end of Wednesday morning.
They have warned the rain will thraw the snow currently on top of hills, which could lead to flooding in affected areas.
The weather company added that transport may be disrupted or be longer than expected, so travellers should plan ahead accordingly.
There is also the possibility of homes and businesses could be affected by the weather.
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Most of Britain will see a chilly and misty day as strong eastern winds push the cold weather, which will lead to some snowfall in Scotland.
Both the north and south have had a divide in weather over the holiday weekend, at the south has had milder temperatures compared to Scotland.
Alex from the Metro Office added: “At the moment the jet stream is still running across the UK but as we head into Bank Holiday Monday it’s going to clear away towards the southeast and that will allow for some colder air to push in from the north and will also lead to a ridge of high pressure building which is why the weather is going to turn a little bit calmer, albeit for a just a short period of time.
“Clear skies as we go through the night. As a result under those clear skies it will turn a little chilly particularly across parts of Wales, southwest England, West Midlands, here there is the risk of a touch of frost but it is further north where we are going to see the lowest temperatures.”
