Britain facing bitter ‘shock to the system’ as temperatures in North and Scotland below -5C trigger hail, sleet and snow

Nathan Rao
Mon, 23 Mar 2026 08:02:42 +0000

Britain is facing a bitter "shock to the system" as temperatures below -5C in northern England and Scotland trigger hail, sleet and snow.

Thermometers will plunge around 15C from last week’s sunshine, which brought the warmest day of the year so far.

A shift in weather patterns with high pressure giving way to low pressure from the west will drive an icy northerly through the country.

The last chilly nip of winter will set in from the north today before midweek sees everywhere shiver.

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Met Office meteorologist Alex Deakin said: “It turns colder as the first push of cold air comes in, and we will really notice the difference when we get to Wednesday.

“Temperatures will be in single figures for many, and probably the peak of the cold will be on Wednesday night that’s when the cold plunge really comes in.

“It will feel different because it has been so warm and sunny for many of us, so there will be that shock to the system.”
Sizzling sunshine will make way for snow, he warned, although most at risk will be the tips of the Scottish hills and mountains.

All of the UK will come under threat from chilly winds and rain, however, as freezing air spills in from the Arctic.

Mr Deakin said: “We are looking at some colder conditions, and there will be plenty of showers, and there will be hail and potentially a bit of snow.

“There is a bit of snow on the charts on Wednesday, and we could easily see some snow over the hills of Scotland.

“On Wednesday night into Thursday, we could see some snow to lower levels across parts of northern Scotland.”

A "pulse of freezing air" will push down from the North Pole, he explained, with the risk of snow greater over high ground.

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He added: “It is going to be cold enough for snow, but not everyone is going to see snow, and it is really going to be confined to Scotland and not huge amounts.

“Over the next few days, we see an initial pulse of freezing air, and by Wednesday, much colder air is across the whole of the north of the UK and northern Scotland.

If you go up to 400 metres, there is likely to be snow.”

After a week of almost summer-like weather, Britain is going to go "back into winter", experts warn.

The cold will hold on through the week as low-pressure storm systems track north of Britain sweeping down bitter winds.

Jim Dale, meteorologist for British Weather Services and co-author of Surviving Extreme Weather, said: “For some of us it is going to feel like we are going back into winter, with the return of the cold this week.

“There will be a risk of snow over the high ground in Scotland, and elsewhere there will be rain.

“It is still going to fee cold at the end of the week and into next weekend.”