Prepare for big chill this week: Met Office

Parts of the UK are set to feel colder than areas in the Arctic circle this week as freezing Siberian air engulfs the British Isles, bringing blizzards, snow drifts and the potential for travel disruption.The icy blast, “the beast from the east”, has prompted the Met Office to issue yellow and amber weather warnings for snow in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for most of the week, with strong winds expected on Thursday in the south-west.Snow showers along the east coast of England in the early hours of today will usher in a week of wintry weather, with the Met Office warning of delays on roads and trains and in the air across most of the UK. The alert warns there may be some power cuts and loss of mobile phone signal.The Met Office meteorologist Charlie Powell said: “The UK is on track for some really cold weather this week. It’s not going to be record-breaking, but it’ll be pretty exceptional – winds are going to make it feel minus 10C to minus 15C during the day.“We will see the first signs of that in the shape of snow showers working all the way down the east coast today with snow showers moving across the country during the day before reaching Wales.“Winds are then going to strengthen and we could see some easterly gales through the eastern Channel and east Anglia by the middle of the week.”By tomorrow, persistent snow and very low temperatures have been forecast in central and eastern parts of the UK, with amber weather warnings for snow in place for Kent and the east Midlands. Vehicles and passengers could become stranded, and rural communities could be cut off, forecasters warned.The yellow weather warning for snow remains in place along the east of the UK on Wednesday, extending to Northern Ireland, with an amber warning for heavy snow from Scarborough to the top of Scotland in place along the east coast. Accumulations of more than 20cm are possible across the Britain.“Daytime temperatures on Wednesday and Thursday will be struggling to get above freezing for most of the country,” Powell said. “By Thursday evening, there are growing signs there could be some significant snowfall across southern England. Unusually for Britain, the snow is going to be quite dry, so it will blow around and gather in drifts and we could see some blizzard conditions.“We don’t want to scare people, but people should make sure they are prepared for some seriously cold weather.”Snow along the north-east coast has been forecast for Thursday, while a yellow weather warning for heavy snow and wind is in place from noon in the south-east of England.