Huge rise in air temperature above north pole will allow chilly winds from eastern Europe to blast UK, Met Office warns

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Britain will be gripped by a potentially lengthy cold snap as sudden stratospheric warming looks poised to cause temperatures to tumble.



Forecasters have warned that the meteorological event has disturbed the jet stream – allowing chilly winds from eastern Europe to blast the UK – and could last well into March.



The Met Office spokesman Oli Claydon said the highs of 14C expected on Monday would be short-lived and that temperatures would “slowly ramp down through the week”.



He said sudden stratospheric warming was caused by a huge rise in air temperature in an area about 18 miles (30km) above the north pole.



“There is a very big, very cold pool of air that circulates around the north pole – sudden stratospheric warming, as it says on the tin, is when the stratosphere suddenly warms,” he said.



“Last week, we saw that take place – a sudden jump of around 50C – so that can disturb the way that cold pool of air moves around the north pole very high up.



“That can lead in around 70% of instances to it impacting the drivers that affect our weather in northern Europe as well. So what we are seeing in this case is it disturbing the jet stream and weakening the jet stream.”

This, he said, would usher out the usual wet and windy conditions, and allow high pressure to “build and dominate” over northern Europe.



From the middle of the week Claydon said this shift would allow an easterly breeze to establish and bring cold air towards Britain, with it feeling close to freezing in some parts.



“As that high pressure builds an easterly flow will start to develop and we will start getting an easterly wind and cold air moving in from eastern Europe by the time we get to the weekend,” he said.



Claydon added: “These colder conditions are expected to last into next week and could be fairly prolonged, and could still be with us into the beginning of March,” he said.