Where is Met Office forecasting snow? Yellow weather alert locations as snow expected in Scotland

A yellow weather warning for snow has been issued for northern Scotland.

The Met Office has put the alert in place after earlier saying that “frequent snow showers” could fall at lower levels across the north by Wednesday (7 December). There is even possibility of “notable accumulations” in the Scottish mountains.

The long-range forecast comes after the national weather service dismissed reports of a potential Beast from the East. The Met Office says there “is no indication at this stage” that we will see conditions “in any way comparable” to those witnessed during the 2018 Beast from the East.

Temperatures are starting to fall as the country endures a cold spell. It could even see snow in Scotland and northern England between 7 December and 15 December.

Here is the latest:

Is the Met Office forecasting snow?

A yellow weather warning is in place from 12am to 11.59pm on Wednesday (7 December) for parts of northern Scotland. The Met Office warns: “Snow showers may bring some travel disruption. Some roads and railways likely to be affected with longer journey times by road, bus and train services.

“Showers will fall as snow to low levels on Wednesday. Accumulations of 2-5 cm are possible at lower levels, with 5-10 cm above 200 metres, with some drifting and blizzard conditions in the strong northerly winds.” From Monday (5 December) to Wednesday (7 December), the Met Office is forecasting for the UK: “Often cloudy with a few showers, wintry on hills, Monday. More frequent snow showers, falling to lower levels across the north by Wednesday. Overnight frost, feeling cold in the wind.”

However things could take even more of a wintry turn from later in the week. The Met Office writes in its long range forecast: “There is reasonable confidence that temperatures will remain below average, and it looks like turning even colder from Wednesday. Showers will fall increasingly as snow in the north, even to lower levels at times with notable accumulations over the Scottish mountains.

“There is a low risk in the far southwest, of a more prolonged spell of rain, which would turn to snow over the moors, but this is far from certain. The best of the clear or sunny spells looks most likely in the west, though this could lead to some hard night frosts. Towards mid-month, the signal for below average temperatures weakens with hints of milder, wetter conditions pushing in from the southwest - though any such features could be preceded by a period of hill snow.”

Where could snow fall?

The Met Office forecast for “frequent snow showers” has been issued for the north of the country. Initially it is likely to fall on hills, but could reach lower areas.

A yellow weather warning for snow is in place for the following areas:

Central, Tayside & Fife

• Angus
• Perth and Kinross

Grampian

• Aberdeen
• Aberdeenshire
• Moray

Highlands & Eilean Siar

• Highland

Orkney & Shetland

• Orkney Islands
• Shetland Islands

What is the early forecst for Christmas?

The Met Office’s long-range forecast for 16 December to 30 December, which includes the Christmas period, has been issued. The forecaster writes: “Confidence is low for this period, but overall settled and relatively dry weather is more likely than stormy weather.

“At this time of year frost and fog are common, and the chance of these, along with below-normal temperatures and spells of wintry precipitation, is slightly higher than usual. Conversely, heavy rain and strong winds are less likely than in a typical December.”

How accurate is the Met Office?

On the website, under the accuracy of public forecast section, the Met Office says: “Our global Numerical Weather Prediction model, the foundation of our accurate weather provision, is recognised as a world leading National Met Service model verified using standards defined by the World Meteorological Organisation. World-leading accuracy is essential to the safety of life. The Met Office is one of just two World Area Forecasting Centres that advise airlines operating right across the globe.

“We use our accurate forecasting skill to warn the Government, public, emergency responders and businesses of severe or hazardous weather which has the potential to cause danger to life or widespread disruption to property and key infrastructure. Our weather models harness the processing power and computational capacity of our supercomputer, helping us provide even more detailed data and forecasts and earlier warnings of severe weather.

“Supercomputer capability has helped us increase the resolution of our models to 1500m in the UK and 10km globally and also to run many more global and UK forecasts in the form of “ensembles” which allow us to assess the risks and uncertainties in every weather forecast, thus providing high resolution forecasts even further in advance.”