Met Office responds to claim of ‘snow bomb’ hitting UK

Met Office dismisses reports saying any disruption next week ‘looks unlikely’

The Met Office has responded to claims of a “snow bomb” hitting the UK next week after some reports based on weather charts claimed parts of the country were going to be covered in ice.

This week, several media reports claimed an “ice blast” was heading towards Britain, which will cover Scotland to the Midlands in up to 10cm of snow. These reports were based on WX Charts which is owned by private company MetDesk.

The Met Office has dismissed these reports saying any disruption next week “looks unlikely”.

“The Met Office is not forecasting 10cm of snow next week,” a spokesperson told The Independent.

“There may be a few cm over the tops of the Scottish Mountains and perhaps the northern Pennines but any disruption at this stage looks unlikely.”

Maps from the Met Office show some snowfall in northeast Scotland this week.

Met Office forecast on Friday shows snow developing in parts of Scotland (in white and grey) as rest of the country enjoys pleasant weather (Met Office)

But in its long-range forecast for next week, the Met Office says the country is going to see a largely dry week with some occasional showers.

After some rainfall on Sunday, “mainly dry conditions developing for most areas at the start of next week”, the forecast said.

“It will probably stay drier and brighter across the north, although still with a few showers in places.”

This week also looks generally calm, featuring bright or sunny spells. There might be cloudy weather with occasional showers near eastern coasts on Thursday and Friday, the forecast shows.

“It’s not going to be entirely rain-free, but certainly compared with recent weeks, there will be less wet weather around now,” Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern said.

Tuesday is also going to get a dry start, with any fog patches lifting during the morning. There could be some cloudier skies in the east and some drizzle here. But overall it is going to be a bright day in the west with long sunny spells developing.

Temperatures are expected to be near normal for this time of the year, with highs of 10-11C forecast in the south. But some dip in temperatures is expected for northern regions.

“A marked temperature contrast starts to form through Wednesday, Thursday and Friday,” Mr McGivern said.

“We’re going to see 6-7C and a brisk wind coming in from the North Sea.”