You may or may not have seen the reports in the media suggesting another beast from the east moving in to affect the United Kingdom this coming weekend. Whilst the weather models are hinting at the possibility there is still a little uncertainty with regards to the track and depth of the colder air being sourced all the way from Siberia.   What the weather models are suggesting is a large area of high pressure to develop over Scandinavia and with the Atlantic expected to quieten down and become blocked, the area of high pressure over Scandinavia may then open the gates to much colder air flooding in from Siberia, coming across the North Sea and impacting the United Kingdom. …

The sudden stratospheric warming event is about to deliver the UK’s coldest spell of weather this winter!   Later this week we see the winds switch to an easterly direction and whilst the coldest of air is yet to come, even by Friday and Saturday we’ll already start to see the changes occur across eastern areas as day time and overnight temperatures start to drop.   As we head into Sunday we start to see a snow shower risk across eastern coastal counties of England and Scotland with perhaps some more organised precipitation (sleet/snow) across E Scotland.   Monday is when the coldest air is expected to start digging in with very cold air being sourced all the way from …

Please note: Some of the following information is very over-simplified. The result is that the information, whilst accurate, does not account for all variables involved in forecasting the likely state of the Stratosphere, but it should make it a little easier to understand overall. The buzz word in recent years in the ‘industry’ surrounding winter forecasts has been stratosphere, and more prominently Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW for short).   What is this phenomenon and how does it affect the UK in winter? Well, as ever, there is a little bit of explaining to do, but stick with me!   So, as anybody who studied GCSE Geography will most likely know, the prevailing wind direction in the UK through the year generally, …