WINTER is biting back as a bitterly cold band of snow and sleet sweeps south across the UK today.
The bizarre winter heatwave, which saw the warmest New Year on record, has come to a very abrupt end as warnings for ice across swathes of the north are issued.
A bone-chilling polar plunge will blast in over the coming hours as freezing air howls southwards.
Forecaster WX Charts has predicted snow in the Highlands of Scotland and parts of Yorkshire.
But areas further south could also see snow, sleet or freezing rain, including Manchester, Sheffield and Liverpool, which are due to be hit in the early hours of this morning.
Birmingham, Leicester and south Wales will see some of the grim weather at 6am, and by 9am, a stretch of the country between Essex and Devon will have to brace.
Yellow weather warnings for wind, snow and ice have already been issued for northern parts of Scotland, which will be hardest-hit, with blizzards and 70mph gales predicted.
There’s also a warning in place for ice between Seahouses in Northumberland and Matlock, south of Sheffield. Locals are urged to take care on slippery roads and pavements until 11am.
BONE CHILLER
Met Office forecasters warned: “Cold northerly air dives south across the whole of the UK with brisk winds.
“It’s feeling colder for all, especially in the wind.”
In the capital, temperatures will plummet by 10C, from 16C at the weekend to just 6C today.
Meteorologist Simon Partridge said we’re facing a “shock to the system” as the chilly winds make it feel as cold as -2C.
“It will definitely be colder, so if you’re going out, think about an extra layer,” he said.
“You might need anything to keep the wind out because it’s not going to be pretty.”
It’ll only get colder as this week goes on, with towns in the south facing -4C on Thursday morning.
Mr Partridge said: “It’s basically what we should have for this time in January; it’s just that we’ve been so mild for so long that it’s suddenly a bit of a shock to the system.”
ARCTIC BLAST
And James Madden, forecaster for Exacta Weather, said: “There is something much more wintery on the way.
“After the very mild start to the month we expect northerly winds to return through the coming days.
“The month overall looks like dishing up something far wintrier than we have seen over the Christmas and New Year period.”
Bookies are hedging their bets on a major change in the weather with Ladbrokes offering 2/1 on the coldest January ever down from 5/2.
Spokesman Alex Apati said: “There’s an increasing chance we’ll be wrapping up and strapping in for a record-breaking cold January, as far as the latest odds are concerned.”
Jim Dale, meteorologist for British Weather Services, said Britain is about to “pay for” the mild start to 2022.
He said: “The unusually mild weather is not going to last, and we are going to pay for it as we go back into a wintry situation.
“It’s going to turn notably colder with the risk of further snow.
“Winter is not over by any stretch of the imagination, and a taste of proper winter may be about to come back to haunt us.”
Source: The Sun