Britain set for Arctic freeze
BRITAIN is set to face its coldest winter for five years.
Icy air will plunge down from the North Pole bringing -11C freezes, widespread snow and travel mayhem.
British Summer Time only ended this morning but winter’s first big frost is due tonight with snow expected in the North within days.
The Weather Company, the world’s biggest commercial forecaster, is warning this winter could be Britain’s worst since the 2012-13 freeze.
After chilly stints in a mixed November, December and January are both forecast to be colder than normal.
More polar air than usual will flow our way this year as Atlantic weather patterns send jet stream winds up to the Arctic and then south to the UK.
Widespread snow and ice are a “much higher” threat than in recent mild winters, said forecaster AccuWeather.
All parts of Britain – including London – could be hit, the weathermen said.
Temperatures are set to fall below -10C in the North, with the South also facing temperatures well below freezing.
Travel chaos is expected on the roads and railways, and at airports.
The Met Office’s month-ahead forecast predicts a “rather cold” early November followed by below-average temperatures.
The UK has seen four mild winters since the 2012-13 winter which saw freezing spells in December and January, during which temperatures hit -14C near London.
Snow and ice caused chaos on the roads and railways, while there were around 300 deaths per day due to the cold.
Some parts of England and Scotland were even colder than the closest human settlement to the North Pole.
Government health warnings for cold weather lasted almost a month, with 13 days of alerts in the run-up to Christmas and a 15-day stretch from January 12.
A low of -13.6C was measured at Buntingford, Herts, on January 22, 2013.
At 3.3C, that winter was 0.4C colder than the UK average. The chills continued until the coldest Easter Sunday ever recorded, when thermometers recorded -12.5C at Braemar, Aberdeenshire.
The Weather Company’s chief meteorologist Todd Crawford said: “We expect the coldest winter in the UK since 2012-13.
“We expect extended spells with a ridge of pressure in the North Atlantic, especially in early winter.
“This forces the jet stream up to the Arctic and back down into Europe, releasing Arctic high pressure from near the Pole directly into northern Europe, with colderthan-normal temperatures.”
AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alan Reppert said: “Snow and ice will be a much higher threat this winter, and could affect London.”