Gales, snow and blizzards warning as winter storms in with an icy Arctic blast
SCOTLAND is set to shiver in Arctic gales, snow and sub-zero temperatures as the mercury plunges throughout the week to bring the coldest day of the winter so far.
Although today and tomorrow will be fairly mild, with maximum temperatures of around 9C (48F), the first big chill of 2017 will begin mid-week.
Friday the 13th is expected to be the coldest day, with the mercury plummeting to a low of -10C (14F).
The Met Office said the change was likely to begin on Wednesday, with gales of up to 70mph in coastal areas. The northerly winds will bring widespread wintry showers. Travel could be disrupted by up to four inches of snow in some areas, with blizzards likely on higher ground. Conditions will continue to deteriorate into Friday, with bitterly cold winds raking the country.
Snow showers are likely to be most frequent in the North and North-West, with as much as 1.5 inches (4cm) falling on higher ground, but southern areas could also be hit.
Met Office forecaster Mike Redding said: ‘The first half of the week is likely to see temperatures slightly above average – up to around 9C (48F) on Monday and maybe up to 7C (44F) on Tuesday.
‘But as we move through to Wednesday morning, very strong north-westerly winds will bring cold air in and the rest of the week will be a different story.
‘The cold air will bring in snow that will not affect all areas, but will be fairly widespread and most frequent across the North and West, with South-Eastern areas staying largely dry.
‘The worst affected will be Caithness and Sutherland, Lochaber and parts of Argyll on Thursday, and then on Friday, Lochaber will be a bit more sheltered and it will be Wester Ross, Caithness, parts of Moray and Aberdeenshire affected.
‘But on Wednesday, we could see some snow on the western side of the Central Belt, with maybe up to 1cm falling in Glasgow and showers falling in Edinburgh.’
He added: ‘Overnight into Thursday, most places will be around freezing on the coast but inland the temperature could drop to around -6C (21F).
‘In rural spots early on Friday, it could go as low as -10C (14F).’
Mr Redding said that at the moment, it looks as if the cold snap could linger until the weekend. Forecaster Highlands and Islands Weather, which specifically monitors the area, said: ‘A short very cold blast seems increasingly likely later [in the] week as we see winds feed down from a long way north, snow showers can be expected and icy conditions.
‘Daytime temperatures for a fair number of us will struggle much above freezing, with severe frost inland at night.’
Dangerously low temperatures have brought havoc across much of Europe in recent days. A number of deaths have been caused by the Arctic conditions, with ten people losing their lives in Poland on Friday alone as the mercury plunged to -20C (-4F).
A man died on Saturday in Belgium when his truck slid off a highway. In Italy, freezing temperatures were blamed for the deaths of half a dozen homeless people. Snow and high winds resulted in re-routed flights, delayed ferries, cancelled trains and closed roads.