SNOWED UNDER
UK weather – Britain braces for two days worth of snow as Met Office issue weather warnings across Scotland
BRITS are today bracing for more freezing weather after a milder day yesterday.
Snow and ice warnings have been issued for much of the country by the Met Office - bringing torrential rain and icy showers.
⚠️ Read our UK weather live blog for the very latest news and forecasts.
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And more wintry weather is set to arrive on Saturday, which could bring heavy rain and snow for much of central England.
Temperatures are also set to plunge with warnings of a potential Beast from the East 2 hitting in the middle of next week.
The warnings came as pictures showed huge waves crashing against Tynemouth pier in North Tyneside yesterday afternoon.
And two brave swimmers even took on the choppy waters as they went in for a dip.
Meteorologists have confirmed a sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) event is happening over the Arctic, which is what happened before the Beast from the East three years ago.
When this happens the warming can affect the jet stream which regulates much of the weather in the UK.
It if it heavily disrupted, or even reversed, it means Brits could be hit with the same chilly conditions currently north of Scandinavia.
There are two yellow weather warning in place for today and tomorrow- covering the majority of Scotland and northern England.
According to the , there will be ";heavy snow, with possible significant travel disruption" in the North, which will continue until 9pm tomorrow night.
Up to 20cm of snow could fall in places during the 40-hour weather blast.
As well as the heavy snowfall, Northern Ireland will be battered with torrential rain.
The Met Office's long-range forecast predicts "significant snowfall on the boundary between milder and colder air masses" as we go into February.
The last Siberian weather front to be given the nickname hit in 2018 when snow blanketed large parts of Britain and temperatures plummeted to -10C.
Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said: "The stratosphere above the North Pole has warmed, it started its process on the 4th of January and has been rapidly warming over the last few days."
Experts say this could mean the country is covered in snow with daytime temperatures plummeting to -5C by the end of the month and into February.
Simon Lee, an atmospheric science and weather forecasting researcher at the University of Reading, told : "A weakening of the jet stream often occurs after an SSW, meaning the UK is now more prone to outbreaks of colder weather from the north and east than it was before.
"A weakened polar vortex can last for up to two months, so there is an increased likelihood of colder, drier weather occurring in Europe sometime in the next 4-6 weeks due to weaker Atlantic westerly winds."
WINTER IS COMING
John Hammond from Weathertrending told The Sun Online: "So while last winter was very mild, there are signs that this winter will be quite different."
Mr Hammond said: "There are signs that the stratosphere is beginning to ‘misbehave’ again this winter, which may have unpredictable and extreme impacts on our weather later on this winter."
Mr Hammond warned that not every warming event leads to a Beast from the East but if it did then "the likelihood of a very cold spell of easterly winds would increase markedly".
He added: "With this would come the chance of severe snowfall and extreme cold - last seen after the Sudden Stratospheric Warming event in late winter 2018."
As well as the Beast from the East, meteorologists are also tracking a La Nina in the Pacific, which could bring wet and stormy weather as it increases the UK's chances of westerly winds.
Researchers from the Universities of Bristol, Bath and Exeter have predicted an imminent sudden stratospheric warming over the North Pole, bringing severe consequences for jet stream and weather in the UK.
Tomorrow ice and snow yellow weather warnings are in place for Scotland and the north of England.
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They are in place until about 11am, with the Met Office warning against dangerous conditions on roads and pavements.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Freezing fog hit the country overnight, with temperatures falling to -12C in some rural northern spots.
Last week temperatures fell to -15C in some spots, with yellow warnings issued for most of the country by the Met Office.
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Beast from the East brings snow and ice as much of UK hit by severe Winter weather
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