snow

Traveling across sea ice (Photo provided by courtesy of Kyra St. Pierre)

What controls the weather in the UK?

During the last week of February and into the last week of March, the ‘Beast from the East’ reared its ugly head and brought severe winter weather to much of the UK, in what was the coldest period for a number of years. The bitter winds drawn down from Siberia were caused by the Sudden Stratospheric Warming event that occurred several days previously.

More than 40cm (15 inches) of snow has blanketed sand dunes across the small town of Ain Sefra, Algeria which is 1,000 metres above sea level and surrounded by the Atlas Mountains. It is the second time snow has fallen in nearly 40 years, with the last occurring in December 2016.

A spokesman for the Met Office said: "Cold air was pulled down south in to North Africa over the weekend as a result of high pressure over Europe. The high pressure meant the cold weather extended further south than normal."

As we head closer to December, one of the questions we are often asked as meteorologists is “Will it be a white Christmas?” The first thing to clarify, is what exactly is being asked – do you want to know if anywhere in the UK will see a single snow flake or are you envisaging streets and roofs with a dusting of the white stuff when you wake up on 25 December. 

Swathes of the country were blanketed in snow on 10th and 11th December 2017, particularly Wales and large parts of England, as the Met Office issued yellow and amber warnings to many parts. The heavy snow led to power cuts, disrupted air, rail and road travel and resulted in hundreds of schools in England and Wales staying closed on the 11th.

Snow expert, Iain Cameron, confirms that for the first time in 11 years there is no snow on Britain's highest mountain, Ben Nevis.

Across Scotland, only three patches of snow survive in Scotland's mountains - one on Aonach Beag in Lochaber and two on Braeriach in the Cairngorms – but these could also vanish by the middle of September, for the first time since 2006.

Mr Cameron, said: "The situation this year is mainly down to a lack of snow last winter.”