UK Faces Brief Respite Before More Cold Returns Next Week

Wintry conditions will slowly ease across most of the UK over the weekend, before returning next week in some regions.

(Bloomberg) — Wintry conditions will slowly ease across most of the UK over the weekend, before returning next week in some regions.

While amber snow and ice warnings remain in place for parts of the UK until Monday, warmer air is expected to extend across the country through Sunday, the Met Office said. Early next week, colder conditions are likely to return during late Monday and early Tuesday.

An arctic cold snap has hit the country during the final month of the heating season, after a mostly mild winter. Following the driest February for England in 30 years, it underlines that climate change is driving more extreme weather conditions.

Colder air and clearer conditions by late on Friday are set to bring further wintry hazards and sub-zero temperatures, before milder air pushes in from the South West from early Saturday, the Met Office said. That could lead to some transient snow in a few areas, as well as heavy rainfall for many, it said. 

While colder weather is set to return thereafter, “it is not expected to be as cold as conditions have been in this week,” Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster Daniel Rudman said. 

Forecaster Maxar Technologies sees temperatures across northern Europe and Scandinavia remaining chillier than normal over the weekend. Milder conditions are expected across Europe next week, but a return to colder days is forecast for the north west at the end of the month. 

(Updates with latest Met Office outlook from first paragraph.)

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