Met Office Forecast Of Snow Delivers Wintry Weather In Spring

#snowday.

The weather wizards at the Met Office promised us snow, and the sky gods have delivered.

The Arctic blast also brought hail and storm-force winds on the first official day of spring on Monday.

Forecaster Grahame Madge said: “During the week, there is a likelihood we will see wintry showers in parts of north England as well on high ground and there will be a mix of hail, sleet and snow.”

There will be heavy showers in the evening, with the chance of precipitation turning into snow in areas above 100m, particularly in northern Ireland and Scotland.

Between 1-3cm of snow are likely in many areas between 100-200m, and 5cm+ is expected above 300m.

Showers will continue through Tuesday, with any lying snow at lower levels set to melt. Due to the unstable air, there is also a chance of wintry showers of hail and lightning – translating into an outside chance of thundersnow.

A rare weather phenomenon, thundersnow is caused in the same way thunder and lightning are triggered during the warmer months, when a pocket of warm air at ground level rises and collides with the colder air above it.

Even if temperatures are freezing or in the minus figures, the air above it is significantly cooler. In the summer months, this process creates heavy rain showers and lightning storms.

In the cooler winter months, the country is pelted with snow instead.

Fine and sunny spells are forecast for the weekend, but temperatures could still fall below freezing overnight.