Several inches of snow could settle across the UK this weekend as weather maps reveal a blizzard will bury several major cities including London, Birmingham and Manchester
Shocking new weather maps suggest as much as 95 per cent of the UK could see snow settled on the ground following a blizzard starting on Valentine’s Day this weekend.
The GFS weather model shows the south-west of England, parts of Wales, western parts of Scotland and all of Northern Ireland will see snow at around 9pm on Saturday, as a storm moves in from the Atlantic.
At around midnight on Valentine’s Day, snow is seen falling across the entire length of the UK – roughly 600 miles – from the south coast of England to the far north of Scotland. Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham and Cardiff can all expect flurries around this time.
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The storm will then continue eastward, the maps suggest, consuming almost all of central England and parts of the south by 3am. London could face snow from around this time too, although the most intense flurries are expected in Scotland.
At 6am on Sunday, maps show East Anglia and the south-east will face more heavy snow, with wintry showers still impacting London. The Pennines and the north-east appear to be in the firing line as well.
Snow coverage maps show roughly 95 per cent of the UK shaded in purple by 9am on Sunday – showing snow settled on the ground – with only the far south-west of England missing out.
Snow depth charts reveal the greatest accumulations will be in the Scottish mountains, where 24cm (nine inches) is on the cards. Parts of northern England could see 6cm (two inches), with 4cm (1.5 inches) coming in Wales and 2cm (0.7 inches) in the Midlands.
BBC Weather suggests snow could fall in places on both Saturday and Sunday too. Its forecast states: “A crisp, bright day on Saturday, excluding some lingering wintry showers on east coasts in the morning.
“Turning cloudier in the west later in the afternoon and evening. Overnight and into Sunday morning, turning windy as a band of rain moves in from the west, falling as snow initially. Sunday afternoon and Monday will see a mix of sunny spells and showers.”
BBC Weather also expects some snow tomorrow. The forecast adds: “Tomorrow, rain across the south of England and Wales with a chance for snow over the hills. Cold in Scotland and North England with sunny spells and snow showers. Dry and bright for Northern Ireland.”
The Met Office expects snow around the coasts on Friday. It says: “Rain continues to move southwards with Northern Ireland and Scotland seeing some sunshine. Snow showers around the coasts. Staying cloudy and wet across the south but eventually clearing later.”
The national weather agency says “widespread” snow could come on Sunday. Its forecast states: “Bright skies with sunny spells on Saturday but feeling much colder than in recent days. Turing wetter on Sunday with widespread snow likely across the north. Unsettled into next week.”