A 524-mile polar vortex is set to hit the UK, bringing potential chaos and snow around February 14. Expect cold weather and wintry showers in the coming weeks.
London: New maps show a 524-mile polar vortex is heading for the UK. This could cause some serious winter weather chaos before mid-February.
Nick Finnis from Netweather shared his insights. He mentioned that most of the UK will have a dry week. A few weak Atlantic fronts might move east early on, but high pressure will build later in the week.
By next weekend, this high pressure will shift northeast and settle over Scandinavia. This change will create a cold easterly flow starting Sunday and lasting into the following week. Initially, it will be dry, but wintry showers may develop from the North Sea.
Snow charts from WX Charts predict snow will arrive around Valentine’s Day, February 14. So, keep an eye out for that!
Looking at February, Netweather TV forecasts temperatures close to the long-term average for most of the UK. However, southwestern Britain might be about 1°C below normal, while the east coast of Scotland could be around 1°C above average.
There’s a chance it could be colder than expected if the blocking highs to the north and northeast of Britain stick around longer. South Wales and southwestern England may see more rain than usual, while western and northern Scotland might have less precipitation.
The week-by-week outlook shows the northwest will likely be drier than the east and southwest. However, there’s some uncertainty about how wet it will get after mid-February.
Netweather also noted that sunshine levels will probably be below normal, except in western and northern Scotland. Eastern and southern England, along with the east coast of Scotland, may see the biggest sunshine deficits.
