BEAST FROM THE EAST II?
TEMPERATURES could drop to -15C in Scotland tonight as the threat of a new ‘Beast from the East’ grows.
Up to four inches of snow is expected to be dumped on higher ground as the weather takes a dramatic turn today.
Warnings have been issued as a band of snow is expected to spread from the North-west across the rest of the mainland.
The alert comes after a polar event known as ‘Sudden Stratospheric Warming’ (SSW), in which the temperature rises by 50C (90F), took place on Tuesday night.
It takes two weeks for the impact of such events on our weather to be known, but a similar event in 2018 resulted in the infamous Beast from the East storm.
Dr Richard Hall, an expert in SSWs from the University of Bristol, said the current event ‘loads the dice’ or ‘tips the odds’ in favour of another blast of heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures from Siberia.
Severe weather could have implications for the vaccine rollout.
The mercury plunged to -12.3C in the Highlands yesterday morning at the Met Office weather station at Loch Glascarnoch, Ross-shire.
It is the coldest temperature registered in the UK since February 3, 2019, when -12.7C was recorded at Cromdale in Moray.
Temperatures may fall as low as -15C tonight where snow is lying.
Some parts of the country can expect snow to continue to fall until midday tomorrow. The focus of the freezing temperatures now switches to the Central Belt, where Glasgow can expect -4C and Edinburgh -3C this morning.
Oliver Claydon of the Met Office said: ‘Scotland still has a lot of cold to get through.
‘A front is moving through, bringing snow and ice. The snow will initially be for higher ground but the air behind it is even colder, which could mean snow to lower levels.’
The first yellow Met Office warning for snow for all of Scotland began at 3pm yesterday and lasts until midnight tonight.
The warning said sleet and snow in north-west Scotland yesterday afternoon ‘ would move southeastwards across most parts of Scotland overnight, clearing southwards on Thursday morning’.
It said almost an inch of snow is ‘likely to settle at low levels quite widely’, with up to four inches above
900ft. In areas where snow turns to rain, there is a risk of roads and pavements freezing overnight and into this morning.
The Met Office says this could cause trips and falls and delays to public transport.
At midnight tonight, a second Met Office warning starts for northern and north-eastern parts of the country, specifically Grampian, Highlands and Islands and Orkney and Shetland.
Here, ‘frequent and heavy’ showers could deliver up to two inches of snow, with four inches possible on ground above 500ft. Showers are expected to ease in the morning and it will turn dry after the warning period expires at around noon tomorrow.
In Glasgow, council bosses were accused of being ‘killjoys’ after trying to smash thick ice to stop the public playing on it at Queen’s Park on the city’s south side.
A lorry fitted with a hydraulic arm to break the perimeter ice gave up after an hour yesterday morning, and despite four police officers warning the public to steer clear on safety grounds, dozens of people ignored the advice.
They were seen happily skating, sledging and even riding bicycles on the pond.
One skater, construction worker Joe Jardine, 37, said: ‘I understand what they’re saying about safety, but with Covid restrictions we are barely allowed to do anything except go for a walk.
‘At least the ice is providing a bit of fun for people and it seems to be bearing everyone’s weight okay, so where’s the harm? I think the council are being killjoys about this, but I dare say others will have their views.’
A council spokesman said: ‘Despite signs warning of thin ice on the pond and a police presence at the park, people have continued to go onto the ice, which is clearly a cause for concern.
‘To try to guard against a risk to safety and deter people from going on to the ice, we have sought to break up the ice around the pond’s edge.’
Meanwhile, a father of five has died after he slipped on ice and suffered fatal head injuries. Kevin Kelly, 45, fell on New Year’s morning and died later in hospital.
The former soldier, of Motherwell, Lanarkshire, had been returning home when he slipped around 2.30am. He was taken to Wishaw General Hospital and put on life support but died on January 3.
A Police Scotland spokesman said: ‘Around 2.30am on Friday, January 1, police received reports of a man having fallen on Shields Drive in Motherwell.
‘The man was conveyed by ambulance to Wishaw General Hospital, where he later died.
‘There are no suspicious circumstances and a report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal.’
‘A lot of cold to get through’