UK weather set to become much colder with wind arriving from North Pole
What looked as though it might turn out to be one of the warmest Aprils on record is about to become much chillier, thanks to an icy wind making its way down from the North Pole.
Overnight, temperatures in the north of England, Scotland and northern Ireland are expected to drop below freezing, while being around freezing further south. The cold will remain for the whole week, with temperatures reaching a maximum of 15C in the South East.
Monday and Tuesday are expected to be the worst, with night-time temperatures dropping to as low as -6C. The conditions will improve slightly on Thursday and Friday, although winds and showers will continue.
But the warm weather we have just been experiencing won't return till mid-May, as the “polar plume” brings ice, sleet and snow to northern areas and possible flash floods to the south.
Steven Keates from the Met Office told The Telegraph it was the result of a “genuinely cold air mass” moving down from Iceland, Greenland and the Arctic.
“It’s going to be a bit of a shock to the system,” he said. “The whole week is going to be really quite cold and strong winds will only accentuate the effect.”