Britons warned to be ready for ‘seriously cold’ weather

Early part of the week could see UK colder than Arctic Circle

Some parts of the UK are to feel colder than places in the Arctic Circle as the freezing temperatures continue into the week.

Widespread snow is forecast and the Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for today, tomorrow and Wednesday.

By the middle of the week, the majority of Britain is being warned of the potential for delays on the roads, trains and in the air. The alert also warns there may be some power cuts and loss of mobile phone signal.

The Met Office said that by the end of Wednesday, more than 20cm of snow may have accumulated in some parts of eastern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Met Office meteorologist Charlie Powell said: “The UK is on track for some really cold weather this week. It’s not going to be record-breaking, but it’ll be pretty exceptional – winds are going to make it feel minus 10C (14F) to minus 15C (5F) during the day.

“We will see the first signs of that in the shape of snow showers working all the way down the east coast.

“That continues into today, with snow showers moving across the country during the day before reaching Wales.

“Winds are then going to strengthen and we could see some easterly gales through the eastern Channel and east Anglia by the middle of the week.

“That’s going to make it feel really cold. Daytime temperatures on Wednesday and Thursday will be struggling to get above freezing for most of the country.”

He added: “By Thursday evening, there are growing signs there could be some significant snowfall across southern England.

“Unusually for Britain, the snow is going to be quite dry, so it will blow around and gather in drifts and we could see some blizzard conditions.

“We don’t want to scare people, but people should make sure they are prepared for some seriously cold weather.”

Picture: Steven Brown. Snow around Kinnordy Loch RSPB reserve, a scene which could be repeated this week.