A ‘lethal cocktail’ of bizarre atmospheric anomalies threatens a calamitous year of storms, crippling snowfall and deadly heatwaves – as Storm Henk unleashes the eighth battering of the season.
A repeat of the blowtorch summer of 2022, which saw temperatures rocket to 40.3C, could be on the cards this year.
And the frenzied Atlantic barrage which has hit Britain with seven named storms since September might have a fair whack of flex left in its muscles, according to one expert.
The warnings come as the Met Office names the eighth storm of the season, Henk, which follows Storm Gerrit’s Christmas mauling.
The cold is on its way
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A combination of drivers including a powerful El Nino, rising global temperatures and increasingly frequent extreme weather events could mean Henk will kick start a year of climatic hell.
Jim Dale, social commentator and senior meteorologist for British Weather Services, said: “We could absolutely see more catastrophic weather events through this year, which as we have seen last year, and the year before, are becoming more frequent.
“In terms of the drivers of this weather, nothing has changed, and through 2024, there is every possibility that in the UK we could see a repeat of the extreme heat, extreme flooding, extreme snowfall, and extreme storms that are becoming all too familiar.
“We are, I suspect, going to be seeing another year of extreme weather events, and so it is all the more important we are weather prepared.”
The UK being shaken by a combination of global and local climatic changes which over the past few years have re-shaped the nation’s weather.
Climate change, experts claim, is leading to an increased risk of extreme weather events, including in Britain.
This year, climatologists recorded an El Nino warming of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of South America.
The phenomenon, driven by a direction change of the easterly Trade Winds, causes warm sea water to gather near the coast of Peru.
It can lead to dramatic changes in global weather patterns, including the Asian monsoon season, winter weather patterns in the United States, and the risk of heatwaves in Australia.
Though its influence on the UK is thought to be weaker, rising global temperatures with increasingly unstable atmospheric conditions could give it a boost to rattle Britain’s weather.
Mr Dale said: “There are a few ingredients that we need to look at that add up to a bit of a lethal cocktail.
“One of these is the increasing climate, and climatologists are shocked at how fast the planet is warming.
“This, with El Nino and the sporadic nature of our weather which could bring the right conditions at the right time means all the ingredients are there.
“This year we could certainly see another summer on par with 2022 in terms of the heat, and we will be at risk of floods, and other forms of weather extreme.”
The warning comes as government forecasters issue another batch of wind and rain warnings for the start of the New Year.
The Met Office has alerts out for up to two inches of rain and up to 65mph gusts today across southern, western and southwestern Britain.
Met Office meteorologist Jonathan Vautrey said: “Milder weather does come with areas of low pressure and that does mean wet and windy conditions.
“There could be some localised disruption, the end of December has been fairly wet so add in this extra rainfall and there could be some flooding in places.”
Long-range experts warn temperatures could plummet further towards the middle of the month with Britain possibly facing a January freeze.
The Met Office has issued a raft of warnings for Storm Henk with gusts of 80mph expected to hit parts of the country.
Chief meteorologist Paul Gundersen, said: “Further wet and windy weather is forecast for the UK this week.
“Our latest analysis of the forecast shows an increase in the likelihood of very strong wind gusts across parts of southern Wales and England which is why we have issued this Amber warning this morning and named Storm Henk.
