UK ‘snow bomb’ warning: Met Office reveals if and when snow will hit in March forecast
The Met Office has not ruled out the possibility of colder spells in the first two weeks of March amid reports of a ‘snow bomb’ hitting parts of England.
According to the latest WXCharts weather maps, there will be a widespread snowfall event on March 11, covering an area stretching from Brighton on the south coast up to Newcastle.
Cities such as London, Cambridge, Nottingham, and York are all within the affected zone, with snowfall rates of at least 1cm per hour expected in these regions.
Scotland and Wales are also forecasted to see some snow, though to a lesser extent. The northern coast of Wales, around Conwy, could experience up to 1cm per hour of snowfall. In Scotland, areas south of Edinburgh, as well as regions near Inverness and the Cairngorms, are expected to have several centimetres of snow already on the ground.
Mixed precipitation is also predicted, with stretches of rain reaching up to 1mm per hour in areas including Kent, Norfolk, and Newcastle. A separate WXCharts model shows a band of freezing air over the UK on March 11, which could lead to temperatures plunging below 0C across much of the country.
However, the Met Office's long-range forecast suggests a more uncertain outlook, with mild conditions at the start of the period but the possibility of colder spells and wintry hazards as March progresses.
The Met Office's forecast for March 8 to March 17 presents a different perspective. It says: “Likely mild at the start of this period and feeling warm in any sunny spells. However, conditions will be fairly changeable with a chance of showers or longer spells of rain across all areas, these more likely, at least at first, in the west.
“How weather patterns evolve during the following week is unclear but there is an increased chance that high pressure will become more dominant for a time from the north. This would result in a good deal of dry weather but also lead to a downturn in temperatures with a low chance of a colder spell and wintry hazards. Low confidence by the end of the period but with an increasing chance of milder but more unsettled conditions developing again.”