Wind, rain and swirling mists will plunge Britain into a week of autumnal gloom before winter’s freezing return.
The UK is teetering on a knife-edge amidst a raging battle between the Arctic and the stormy Atlantic.
As the risk of the next snow blast grows, the outlook for the next five days at least is for heavy rain and gales.
Weather systems laden with snow and sub-zero temperatures this week will hover within spitting distance of the northeast.
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Scotland and northern England will catch the chilly bite of the Arctic, however, with forecasts for frost and hill snow.
Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said: “The next weather system moves in from the Atlantic on Tuesday, bringing heavy rain to parts of northern Ireland down into Pembrokeshire and Cornwall with some strong winds and gales developing around the coasts.
“In terms of temperatures, we expect 7C to 11C and through the week ahead, the weather is going to be dominated by areas of low pressure moving in from the Atlantic.
“It is going to stay on the cloudy side, and with winds generally coming in from the south, but we may tap into a little bit of colder air to allow the rain to turn to hill snow across parts of Scotland and perhaps northern England, and it will remain blustery.”
First signs of snow returning to the north
|WX CHARTS
Britain will hover in a ‘no man’s land’ of stormy outbreaks and grey skies as the threat of the next mega freeze looms larger.
Early signals show the risk of easterly winds and snow hitting Britain after this weekend.
In the meantime, the weather will be dominated by ‘slow-moving’ cyclonic lows from the Atlantic.
Met Office meteorologist Alex Deakin said: “For most of the week, the temperatures will be around or just below average.
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The west of Britain will be hit by more wind and rain
|WX CHARTS
“The jet stream is weakening across the UK, which means our weather patterns are pretty slow-moving, and another reason for that is we have a big blocking area of high pressure sitting across northern Europe.
“Some colder air does come into northwestern and eastern parts of Europe, but close to the UK, we are not expecting anything especially cold.
“Looking further as we go into the weekend, a Scandinavian high is the most likely pressure pattern, but this can have different flavours to it, with southerly winds or easterly winds.”
Western regions closest to the Atlantic coast are in the firing line this week for the wind and rain.
Jim Dale, meteorologist for British Weather Services and co-author of ‘Surviving Extreme Weather’, said: “This is the battle between the Atlantic and the cold over Europe.
“The Atlantic usually wins, and this is what we are seeing at the moment, and for the west, it is a case of rain, showers and some wind.
“We are watching next week, though, when there are signs that something colder could make its way back.”