The Beast from the East could set in on the evening of January 24 (Image: WXCharts/PA)
A fresh blitz of wintry weather will cover most of the UK in a matter of days, according to from WXCharts, as a weather system hits the nation from the east.
The forecasts show hammering a stretch of the country from central Scotland down to the southeast English coast at midnight on Friday, January 24 as the storm moves across the North Sea
Just 24 hours later, large swathes of the UK will be painted purple and blue as a mixes with heavy rainfall in a clash likely to disrupt travel and see a drop in the mercury back to below freezing.
Maps show heavy snowfall moving across the from Scandinavia to southern England and accelerated rainfall moving in from the west.
The barrage of cold and icy weather is set to continue throughout Sunday, with snow settling in Scotland, north eastern England and Wales and flurries continuing to hit almost the entire country, save the south western coast, which is forecast for heavy rain showers.
The so-called Beast from the East will see cold air move across the North Sea (Image: WXCharts)
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Snow will begin battering the UK on Friday, January 24 (Image: WXCharts)
Northern and central Scotland are expected to bear the brunt of the so-called Beast from the East, the jet stream heading in from eastern Europe and Sibera, with snow forecast to reach depths of up to 15cm around Inverness.
Cities in the East Midlands and Yorkshire will be worst hit in England, with the eastern coastline weathering a particularly potent combination of battering rain and snow, and around 5cm of snow could also accumulate around Cardiff in Wales and across most of Northern Ireland.
There’s no indication that conditions will reach the extremes of the 2018 Beast from the East, when cold eastern winds spurred by anticyclone Hartmut saw the first-ever red warning for snow issued across the UK, grounding flights and causing power cuts and 17 deaths.
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By Sunday morning, the icy barrage could be well underway (Image: WXCharts)
But the has warned that “rain, showers and windy conditions” are expected across the country between January 18 and 27 due to cold air masses moving overhead.
It comes after January kicked off with a freezing cold snap, with temperatures in Scotland plummeting to a 15-year low of -18.9C and widespread flooding and frost.
Over 30 flood alerts remain in place across England and Wales this week as temperatures begin to slowly rise, thawing some snow and ice – but don’t put away your winter sweaters, hats and gloves just yet.
The Met Office’s five day weather forecast:
Today:
Cloudy and dry across most of the country with some drizzle in England and Wales. Hill fog and sunny spells forecast for Scotland and northeastern England with generally milder temperatures expected in the north.
Tonight:
Clouds and patchy drizzle with some breaks in eastern Scotland, northeast England and Cornwall. Some patchy fog and frost across most regions and wind in the north.
Wednesday:
Grey and cloudy for most of central and southern England, with fog and drizzle widely expected. Rain showers in northwest Scotland.
Outlook for Thursday to Saturday:
Wind and rain in the northeast, with cloudy, grey skies in central and southern England and Wales alongside patchy drizzle. Brighter and milder in the north.