Weather Story - Snow and Ice on the way - 12/01/21
It’s a complicated weather picture at the moment with the potential for further disruptive weather. Rain and snow and ice warnings are in play and the wintry hazards could continue into next week. Alex Deakin takes a look at the details.
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00:00There's lots going on with the weather through this week and probably beyond.
00:04Different types of disruptive weather are possible across different parts of
00:08the UK at different times so let's try and break it down. The main culprit for
00:13this wintry weather is actually going to be one weather front which is rather
00:18counterintuitively a warm front but it's reintroducing mild air and also some wet
00:24weather over what is already cold conditions across much of the UK and
00:29it's where they meet that we're likely to see some problems. Now the first issue
00:34is the wet weather coming in through the night across parts of Northern Ireland.
00:38The rain is likely to be quite heavy at times and last well into Wednesday so
00:43that's one area for concern. The heavier bursts coming in here and it's not just
00:47here also but parts of North Wales, North West England also likely to see some
00:51fairly heavy rain and as the mild air arrives well that will melt any snow
00:55that's over the hills and mountains and that could also contribute to some
00:59disruption. So we have a rain warning in force for parts of Northern Ireland.
01:04The next issue is as that wet weather arrives across parts of North West
01:08England and South West Scotland on Wednesday morning the ground here will
01:12be cold, frozen in fact. So although it's chiefly going to be rain that we see as
01:18it hits the cold surfaces well it could cause some very icy conditions. We could
01:22in places see something called freezing rain. That's where rain falls through a
01:26layer of the atmosphere that is actually below freezing but it stays as rain. It
01:31becomes what we call super cooled and as it hits the ground it then freezes
01:35instantly creating an ice rink and treacherous conditions on the roads. It's
01:40quite a rare phenomenon across the UK but there is the potential for that on
01:43Wednesday morning especially over higher parts of the M6 and the M8. After that
01:49we're mostly then concerned about snowfall. Now initially it will be mostly
01:53rain that we see but over the hills we'll start to see some snow falling
01:56during Wednesday particularly across the hills and mountains of Scotland and then
02:00through the evening and overnight more snow is expected to come down over the
02:04hills of North East England, Southern and Eastern Scotland. Now it will be chiefly
02:09hills but it's finely balanced whether we see rain, sleet or snow at low levels
02:15and we could easily see a few centimetres of snow down to low levels
02:19in some locations. That snow may well pep up again through the early hours of
02:24Thursday morning. Again the main areas at risk Eastern, Central and Southern
02:28Scotland along with North East England. You can see there the mountains really
02:31being picked out by the computer models where we're expecting the snow but even
02:35to low levels as I said there could be a few centimetres in places. Then as we go
02:40through Thursday the wet weather that weather front has kind of ground to a
02:43halt but the colder air sinks south and we could start to see a little bit more
02:47in the way of snow further south say through parts of Lincolnshire maybe even
02:51a bit further south from that too. So as I say lots going on lots to keep an eye
02:56on. It's always in the balance with snow and rainfall of this type of weather
03:00just a degree or so difference can make all the difference as to whether we see
03:05heavy snowfall in one location or not. Make sure you keep up to date with the
03:09latest Met Office weather warnings. Now beyond Thursday that weather front does
03:14drift away taking the colder air with it. Most of us looking like having a dry day
03:18on Friday although it could be foggy first thing in the morning and it will
03:21be frosty as well. Then we keep our eyes on this weather system moving in for the
03:26weekend that's another cold front potentially bringing some further snow
03:29most likely at this stage over northern Britain and again probably mostly over
03:34hills. But we're not done there because even into next week the longer term
03:38projections are for the cold weather to stick around or return with winds from
03:42the north or the northeast and that brings a continued risk into next week
03:46of wintry problems. Ice and yes the potential for further snowfall too early
03:52to say at this stage where or when. So again make sure you keep up to date with
03:56the latest from the Met Office the weather warnings are on the app and on
04:00the website and if you follow us on social media you'll always get the
04:03latest.