Part of UK face barrage of rain, sleet and SNOW next week as temperatures plummet
Parts of the UK are set for a messy mixture of rain, sleet and snow next week, forecasters have said.
Parts of the UK are set for a messy mixture of rain, sleet and snow next week, forecasters have said.
The Met Office said it was too early to tell where the wintry weather might hit, with computer models showing a number of different scenarios, but temperatures are expected to plummet.
It comes after it was revealed that temperatures hit as low as 0.3C earlier this week following a brief sunny respite from an anticyclonic gloom.
Tom Morgan, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said: The really cold air is likely to arrive next week and there will be some snow in parts of the UK.
Therell be a messy mixture of rain, sleet and snow. And also quite windy conditions, probably on Monday, in parts of the UK, but all areas will turn cold with wintry showers probably by Wednesday.
Parts of the UK are set for a messy mixture of rain, sleet and snow next week (stock image)
The Met Office said it was too early to tell where the wintry weather might hit, but temperatures are expected to plummet (stock image)
People shield themselves from the rain while on the River Cam in Cambridge on September 11
If youve got travel plans next week, its worth making sure your car is all geared up for winter conditions.
Mr Morgan added: It is fairly unusual in the south. Its quite early in the month for a cold spell such as this.
We often have rapid changes in the weather in the UK, the main reason for the big change next week is a sudden change in the orientation of the jet stream.
At this point, anywhere in the UK has a chance of seeing snow and ice and frost by night, particularly from mid-week onwards.
So far this November, temperatures in the UK have been above average in general, as parts of the North West were hit with thick fog on Thursday.
Pictures showed Blackpool Tower covered in fog with only the tip of the 158-metre building poking out above a blanket of mist.
Mr Morgan said: Usually at this time of year, fog is slow to clear because we have very short days and the suns at its weakest point.
Tom Morgan, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said: The really cold air is likely to arrive next week and there will be some snow in parts of the UK (stock image)
Lower temperatures are expected following a brief sunny respite from an anticyclonic gloom
So theres not much heating of the ground and its the heating that usually disperses the fog, so weve seen some areas not really improve.
The main reason (for the fog) is high pressure, light winds, a temperature inversion and stagnation of the air allowing that fog to form overnight and not clear in the day.
According to the Met Office website, a temperature inversion is a phenomenon in which it gets hotter the higher up in the atmosphere one goes.
Last week, Britain was gripped by an anticyclonic gloom with the weather having been stuck in a rut of mist, fog and low cloud for weeks.
The UKs weather was being dominated by high pressure, or an anticyclone, which has been blocking fronts bringing rain and resulting in an extended dry spell.
While such a setup in the summer months often leads to warm and sunny days with light winds, it can result in anticyclonic gloom in autumn and winter.
The Met Office confirmed that the high pressure is trapping an area of moisture near the earths surface.
Low cloud, mist and fog are then formed by this moisture, which cannot lift and clear because the sunshine and the winds are light – giving the dull conditions.
