The UK is braced for heavy snow after new weather maps turned white leaving 83 counties buried in snow. Weather data from WXCharts.com shows large parts of England, Scotland and Wales covered in snow with as much as 55cm in parts.
The weather maps show heavy snow sweeping southwards between February 11 and 13 reaching its peak on February 14, with only parts of west Wales, Northern Ireland, Cornwall and Devon expected to miss out. A Met Office long-range forecast for the period February 6 – February 15 states: “Frontal systems over the Atlantic, steered by a south-shifted jet stream, are likely to approach the UK at times, but tending to stall as they encounter a blocking area of high pressure to the north and northeast.
“This will result in further spells of rain at times, falling in areas already sensitive to flooding.
“As these bands of rain spread northwards, some snow will be possible in northern England and Scotland, mainly over higher ground, as they encounter colder air.
“A subtle shift southwards of these areas of low pressure is anticipated during the second week of February, which may allow a greater chance of colder air to spread across larger parts of the UK, including the south, bringing an increased risk of wintry hazards for a time.”
The snow will be heaviest in Scotland on February 14 with Aberdeen and the Scottish Highlands expected to see as much as 55cm, according to WXCharts.
Further south, northern England could see snow as deep as 10-12cm while the south of the country will see less, with 6cm expected in London.
Much of Wales will also be hit with 6 to 7cm of snow expected in western and central parts.
The Met Office often warns about the difficulty in predicting snow more than a few days in advance.
It said: “In many temperate countries such as the UK, a small amount of snow can cause all sorts of disruption.
“But it can also be very challenging to predict. There are lots of factors involved in determining whether rain or snow will be falling from the sky, such as elevation, distance from the coast and precipitation intensity”.
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