Snow forecast UK 2022: where are the Met Office yellow weather warnings - and when could Storm Gladys hit?

Other than the parts of the UK that enjoyed a white Christmas in 2021, there hasn’t been much snow this winter.

Instead, the country has been repeatedly hit by violent wind storms, like Storm Arwen and Storm Eunice.

While the latter of these did bring some snow to parts of England and Scotland, it didn’t settle for long.

Now, the Met Office has announced yellow weather warnings for snow ahead of unsettled weather which could be classified as Storm Gladys.

So where does the forecaster think it will snow?

Here’s what you need to know.

Is February usually a snowy month?

February has been an extremely snowy month in recent years thanks to ‘Beast from the East’ weather systems that saw the UK get hit by freezing air from Siberia in Russia.

In 2018, the end of February saw the first incidence of this kind of weather when sub-zero temperatures and widespread snow hit the UK for more than a week.

Similar conditions came again in 2021, when a mini Beast from the East led to widespread snow and the coldest temperature recorded since 2010 - -16.7C at Altnaharra in the Scottish Highlands.

But according to the Met Office, February 2022 is unlikely to see a repeat of these wide scale snowfall events.

The weather agency has predicted a continuation in the pattern of milder conditions broken up by short, sharp freezing spells that we’ve seen for much of this winter.

Jet stream oscillations around the UK are causing this.

When the jet stream lies to the north of us, milder conditions prevail.

But as it dips further to the south, colder air from the north is able to cross the UK and drop temperatures.

However, it is fairly “typical” for the time of year, according to Met Office chief meteorologist Andy Page.

“It will often be windy, with bands of rain moving south-east followed by colder weather with wintry showers, these particularly affecting Scotland,” he says.

“It is not unusual for us to see snow in February, and there are no signals currently for anything out of the ordinary.”

Will it snow in February?

The Met Office has put in place a yellow weather warning for snow and wind across much of Scotland and Northern Ireland for Wednesday and Thursday this week (23 and 24 February).

From lunchtime on Wednesday until mid-afternoon on Thursday, frequent heavy snow showers and strong, gusty winds are expected as freezing Arctic air is carried across northern parts of the UK.

Snow might accumulate in low-lying areas.

The system carrying this weather to us could become Storm Gladys - although it has not yet been classified by the Met Office.

The weather forecaster said it does expect to issue further weather warnings later this week.

But it said it doesn’t expect the systems to be anything like what we saw with Storm Dudley, Storm Eunice and Storm Franklin last week.

Some hilly ground in England and Wales could also see some snow showers and sleet, but temperatures should mean it is too warm for snow to meaningfully settle.

A separate yellow weather warning for wind is in place for North East England and southern Scotland from 6am to 3pm on Wednesday.

The picture for the last few days of February remains unclear, although the Met Office expects unsettled conditions to continue with the potential for further windy weather.

Some wintry showers could fall in northern areas of the UK over the weekend and into next week, but temperatures are expected to be well above freezing.

It means we can expect March to bring more spring-like weather.

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