Disappointed that you’ve not seen then snow yet? Don’t worry, because there is a set-up coming together Friday which looks highly likely to bring a SIGNIFICANT snow event to western and central areas of Great Britain as warm, moist air collides with cold, dense air.

Through Friday AM, a shield of moisture will spread into western areas of the UK but as this bumps up against some very cold air at all levels of the atmosphere, this rain will quickly turn to heavy snow.

For immediate coastal areas of England, Wales and Scotland, it may start as rain by early Friday but once inland, heavy snow breaks out. How much? Hills may see a good 4-8 inches while low lying areas away from the coast may see 2-4 inches, locally 6 inches. With strong southerly winds, this snow will reduce visibility, perhaps producing blizzard conditions, especially to the hills. Watch out for blowing and drifting also.

Where will this fall exactly? While there is a chance of a mix along the coast, away from the coast by just a few miles, I expect a decent covering of snow to ALL areas stretching from Cornwall up through Wales, the Midlands, Northern England and western and central Scotland.

Here’s the latest GFS snow chart.

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If your planning to travel during Friday, I advise you to check ahead as roads are likely to become blocked in areas.

Here’s the GFS snow depth forecast for Saturday. The model also keeps a solid snowpack across the UK throughout next week, this cold pattern looks likely to take us well into February!

Cold Tightens It’s Grip Beyond Friday

The cold was a big story this morning as Marham, Norfolk plummeted to -13.4C overnight. While cold, this won’t be the coldest reading over the next 7 days for the UK.

Once the system clears later Friday into Saturday and much of the UK is under a blanket of white, a push of colder air will come flooding in and the stage will be set for Saturday and Sunday nights being the coldest yet. Next week will be the coldest of the winter for sure with high pressure keeping days sunny but very cold. Nights will be bitter.

Don’t be surprised to see rural areas dip widely towards -10C, perhaps colder, while some spots over South-Central England, the Midlands, Northern England and Scotland push -18C.

ALL of next week is likely to be coldest with days which may fail to crack 0C for many (some places may hold at -3 to -6C during the day) and nights will be bitter with severe frost.

Here’s the GFS temp anomaly for the next 8 days. Wow!

Following 8 days.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the post from yesterday which looks at the CFSv2 long temp anomalies right through till mid-February for Europe! Brrr.

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