Winter makes its last stand before a welcome thaw
FOR the time being, we can only dream of spring while we endure what we hope will be winter’s last bitter stand.
Caught up in what the French Met Office is calling Storm Larisa, large areas of the Midlands, northern England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and North Wales have endured snow, ice and blizzard conditions with motorists trapped by 16in (40cm) of snow on the M62 over the Pennines, power lines down and Altnaharra, in Sutherland, recording this year’s coldest night on Wednesday at 3.2F (-16C).
A brief respite should take hold today, before another wave of cold air returns mid-week. It will be mercifully short-lived, and by next weekend spring may just be back on track.
For today, then, mild air is building in from the south west, though it will bring with it wet and windy conditions in many places. The temperatures will rise steeply to 55F (13C) in Cornwall and Devon, 54F (12C) in the South East and in East Anglia, 52F (11C) in South Wales, 50F (10C) in Belfast and 46F (8C) in the central belt of Scotland.
As evening arrives, another low-pressure system will swing in eastwards and northwards across the UK, bring a new wave of wind and rain. Up in northern Scotland, the snow will continue into the start of the working week. Elsewhere, it will continue to be mild but unsettled, until a change in wind direction on Tuesday sees the return of that biting northerly wind, sweeping down across the country.
The skies will be blue and dry, but the wind chill will see the mercury tumble. Thankfully, it will not linger and, as we approach the weekend, high pressure from the South West will start to arrive and with it the promise of spring is rekindled.