Meteorologists including BBC Weather have warned that Britons could face a “chilly” April. New forecast maps also show that a wall of snow hitting the UK after the first week of April. While many Britons hoped that the arrival of spring would be the end of cold weather, the latest weather maps show significant snowfall and icy rain sweeping across the country on April 8.
The WXCharts weather map, dated to Monday, April 8, at 6am, shows a chaotic start to the working week for many, particularly in the north.
The weather map turns purple across Scotland, suggesting a wintry blast of snow and ice.
Up to 5cm of snow per hour could be dumped across northern and central Scotland.
Meanwhile, the rest of the country could be blanketed in icy rain and wintry showers.
Scotland and northern England will bear the brunt of the rain, but it will also reach parts of the Midlands, and Northern Ireland.
According to the WXCharts map, Wales and southern England will escape much of the unsettled weather.
However, according to the weather map, the snow is not expected to settle.
This echoes the latest long-range forecast from BBC Weather which predicted that in the first week of April, “some chillier air could move back across at least the northern UK”.
The BBC forecast said that the cold weather could hang around for many, stating: “By mid-April, there are chances of some colder conditions returning, but there is a lot of uncertainty.”
It added: “This risk is partly dependent on a current disruption of the stratospheric polar vortex having an impact on surface conditions in two to three weeks’ time.”
Early April will also see a return to wintry conditions, with another map from WXCharts suggesting snow showers for areas ranging from Wick to Edinburgh on April 4.
The cold snap will stay inside the country for almost 36 hours bringing in more frost and rain.