Rare weather phenomenon that led to ‘Beast from the East’ returning to UK this winter after Arctic freeze
Weather phenomenon behind ‘Beast from the East’ set to hit UK again
- The Met Office has announced an early arrival of winter across the UK, following a week of cold Arctic air, ice, and snow warnings.
- While temperatures are set to increase this weekend with milder Atlantic weather, a potential Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) event could lead to a return of colder conditions within the next two weeks.
- A SSW involves a rapid temperature increase in the stratosphere above the North Pole, which historically increases the likelihood of colder weather in the UK by approximately 70 per cent 10 to 14 days later.
- This weather phenomenon was the cause of the severe 'Beast from the East' in 2018, which brought heavy snowfall and extremely low temperatures to Great Britain and Ireland.
- The UK recently experienced its coldest night of the season, with -11.7C recorded at Loch Glascarnoch, and schools were forced to close due to snow this week.