April Arctic Plunge to Impact the UK

Written on: 03rd Apr 2021

Despite temperatures reaching 24c earlier this week, the new week is set to begin very differently with a plunge of bitterly cold Arctic air sinking southwards across the UK and a return to snow for some. 

High pressure to the west and low pressure to the east will open the floodgates to cold northerly winds on Monday and we'll start to see showers falling increasingly as snow across parts of Scotland & along exposed coastal areas of England and Wales.

What is remarkable is the depth of cold, something rarely seen in winter across the UK, let alone in April. The temperatures at the 850hPa level are projected to be 2c colder than the early February cold spell which brought widespread significant snowfall.

Dew points could be into the double minus digits across the UK by Monday, signifying the significant depth of cold but also extremely dry air across the UK.

It's unlikely we'll see any significant snowfall accumulations away from the hills but we could see temporary coverings to lower levels during any heavier snow showers, particularly by night, snow will melt rapidly once the early April sun gets to work.