Britain braces itself for rare weather event that risks late-winter freeze

LONDON – Britain is preparing for a late blast of cold next week that could mark the start of an unusually chilly March.  

Snow and ice warnings are in place for the country from next Monday, with temperatures set to drop far below seasonal norms.

An extreme weather event known as “sudden stratospheric warming” – which can cause extreme cold in the Northern Hemisphere – risks prolonging the cold spell until the end of March. 

The turn in weather comes at the end of a mild winter that helped Britain, along with the rest of Europe, to retain adequate supplies of gas and avoid rolling blackouts during the energy crisis.

Still, a cold front could pressure those inventories.

It also comes as

a storm has brought snow to the north-east United States,

including New York.

“Temperatures will drop to below normal across the UK over the weekend as a cold north to north-easterly develops,” said Ms Amy Hodgson, a meteorologist at Atmospheric G2.

For the rest of the month, forecasters see mounting odds of sudden stratospheric warming influencing the weather.

The phenomenon, which occurs around six times per decade, refers to rapid warming high above the Earth’s surface.

It causes a circulation of winds known as the polar vortex to break down.

That can cause cold air to descend very rapidly and lead to changes in the weather on Earth, and result in extreme bouts of freezing temperatures and snowstorms.

Meteorologists saw signs of sudden stratospheric warming taking place from late February.

As the extreme weather event – high up in the stratosphere – comes to an end, its colder impacts will continue to be felt across Europe, according to Maxar meteorologist Matthew Dross.

In 2018, Britain’s so-called “beast from the east” was caused by sudden stratospheric warming.

At the time, temperatures in Britain plunged as low as -12 deg C and caused issues with energy infrastructure. It also resulted in the deaths of 10 people.

The Met Office’s outlook suggests that March is likely to be colder than average, but any impact from sudden stratospheric warming is still uncertain, said the national forecaster.

Still, the Met Office sees increased chances of snow, frost and fog for parts of the country.

“The exact positioning of the high pressure will be key and will greatly affect what weather we see in the UK,” said Mr Mark Sidaway, deputy chief meteorologist at the Met Office. BLOOMBERG