Brrr...itain’s big freeze to last into spring
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A BITTERLY cold weekend is on the cards amid warnings yesterday that freezing weather could remain into spring.
Temperatures will plunge in the run-up to the weekend, bringing widespread frosts and up to 8in of snow in parts.
Scotland and the North of England are on alert for heavy bursts of rain, with showers turning wintry on high ground.
The rest of Britain will stay settled but cold, with overnight temperatures of -5C (23F) forecast in exposed spots.
A brief burst of milder weather is due on Monday, before yet another wintry blast arrives.
Shivering
Met Office spokesman Nicola Maxey said: “At the start of next week daytime temperatures could lift into double figures.
“It will also be much more settled than we’ve seen recently.
“However the rest of this week will remain cold with freezing lows overnight and possibly -5C in some rural spots.
“We expect widespread frosts with the risk of wintry showers in Scotland and the North of England, while the South is drier but colder.”
Meteorologists confirmed the onset of a “sudden stratospheric warming” pattern over the North Pole. The phenomenon, which is linked to extended periods of cold weather, causes freezing air to sink over Britain.
It last happened in January 2013 and was followed by a stubborn icy blast which kept the nation shivering into April. The Met Office said its effects are likely to set in later next week.
Ms Maxey said: “Sudden stratospheric warming was confirmed this week.
“This can lead to a more easterly wind pattern bringing colder but drier conditions.”
Netweather forecaster Nick Finnis said of sudden stratospheric warming: “A fairly dramatic event going on in the atmosphere may have a fundamental effect on our weather later this month and perhaps into early March.”
Forecasts this week have prompted bookies to take the axe to a raft of winter odds.
Ladbrokes is offering 6-4 from 2-1 on seeing -10C by the end of the weekend, with 5-2 on snow every day until March.
Its spokeswoman Jessica Bridge said: “February’s freezing weather has left us little option but to slash the odds on it being a record breaker.”