90 hours of snow is set to batter Brits from Inverness to Cornwall within a fornight according to new weather maps that show snow set to sweep in from the Atlantic
90 hours of snow is forecast from Inverness to Cornwall(Image: Getty)
The UK is bracing for a whopping 90 hours of snowfall, stretching from Inverness to Cornwall within the next two weeks, as per weather maps.
Weather forecasting service WXCharts has projected that snow will roll in from the Atlantic, initially making landfall in Scotland before sweeping across the nation over a three-day period. The weather experts anticipate light snowfall in Aberdeen on January 4 at 6am, but the real onslaught is expected to commence 24 hours later on January 5, originating in Scotland and gradually spreading across England.
Near Dundee, around 1 inch of snow is forecasted to fall per hour at approximately 6 am, before shifting towards Glasgow by early morning. By 6pm, England will be squarely in the crosshairs.
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Weather maps, January 5 at 6pm(Image: WXCharts)
Predictions suggest the snow will drift south along the west coast, from Cumbria down to Manchester, although the rate of snowfall is expected to lessen by this point. The following day, the UK will experience a brief respite, with concentrated patches of snow primarily affecting northern Scotland and Blackpool. However, this lull is merely the calm before the storm, as another wave of snow is predicted to strike at midnight, leading into January 7.
Weather maps, January 7 at midnight(Image: WXCharts)
Less than 1 inch of snow per hour could descend over Blackpool, Manchester and Yorkshire, as well as the northernmost point of Scotland, reports the Express. By 6am, forecasts indicate the weather front will have shifted from the west to blanket Lincolnshire and parts of Yorkshire with around 1 inch of snow. Aberdeen is set to receive a light dusting, as is central Wales.
By noon on January 7, the weather system will have reached as far south as Cornwall, where forecasters have predicted a very light dusting of snow. In eastern regions, WXCharts has indicated that Norfolk could see approximately 1inch of snow falling per hour.
Weather maps, January 7 at 6am(Image: WXCharts)
By 6pm, England will be predominantly dry, with only scattered light snow showers anticipated just north of London. However, at this stage Scotland will be blanketed entirely from its northern extremity down to Glasgow, with roughly 1inch of snow expected to fall hourly.
By midnight, Cumbria, Northumberland and Manchester could be at risk, with less than an inch of snowfall anticipated per hour, potentially leading to treacherous icy conditions on the morning of January 8 as temperatures are forecast to plummet well below freezing.
Weather maps, January 7 at 12pm(Image: WXCharts)
The Met Office acknowledges that predicting snow is difficult, and its forecast differs. The weather agency’s long-range forecast from December 28 to January 6 predicts that settled and mainly dry conditions will continue for many parts of the UK in the first week of January.
However, it added there was a “small chance that more unsettled, wetter and milder weather could develop at times, particularly in the north”.