‘Beast from the East’ to blanket Brits in snow as more weather warnings issued

More snow and ice is expected by the weekend as before a Beast from the East batters Britain next week, the Met Office warns.

A total of three yellow weather warnings are in place for Friday, forecasting snow and ice for the whole of Wales, Scotland's east coast and much of England except for the south east.

Northern Ireland is also facing a yellow weather warning from the Met Office for icy conditions lasting from 2pm on Thursday until Friday noon.

A repeat of 2018's freezing blast dubbed the Beast from the East is looking set to bring snowstorms and extreme temperatures next week as forecasters identify a "Sudden Stratosphere Warming" (SSW).

The expected cold blast is not the only storm meteorologists are keeping an eye on as a La Nina which could bring to the UK, wet and stormy weather from the Pacific.

Researchers from the Universities of Bristol, Bath and Exeter have predicted an imminent SSW over the North Pole, bringing severe consequences for jet stream and weather in the UK.

Dr Richard Hall, leading the research on the SSW, said: "While an extreme cold weather event is not a certainty, around two thirds of SSWs have a significant impact on surface weather.

"What’s more, today’s SSW is potentially the most dangerous kind, where the polar vortex splits into two smaller ‘child’ vortices."

Public Health England responded to the disrupted infrastructure caused by the last Beast from the East, by issuing a Level 3 “cold weather action” alert, one step below “national emergency”.

John Hammond from Weathertrending told The Sun Online : "So while last winter was very mild, there are signs that this winter will be quite different.

"Of course some places have already had snow, and much of early December stayed quite cold, with the possibility of further snow in places."

"There are signs that the stratosphere is beginning to ‘misbehave’ again this winter, which may have unpredictable and extreme impacts on our weather later on this winter."

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