Weather forecasts suggest that an Arctic blast will soon plunge the UK into a week-long -5C cold.
Cold temperatures will bring further snow, especially in northern portions of the UK's home countries.
Temperatures may drop by more than 15 degrees Celsius in certain areas as they go from highs of 5 to 10 degrees Celsius to the negative zone on February 4.
weather maps forecast week-long snow chaos
ANDREJ IVANOV/AFP via Getty Images
The lowest temperatures will be -10 degrees Celsius in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and northern England and Wales.
Lows in the southeast, including London, will range from -1 to -5 degrees Celsius, as per Express.
According to maps, the deep chill will continue for the foreseeable future following a small break on February 5.
Temperature projections from WXCharts for February 7 to February 17 suggest that the mercury will remain below -5 degrees Celsius.
A cold front moving in from the east will keep the UK frozen in lows of -15C, according to WXCharts data.
The charts suggested that the likelihood of falling snow will increase across the country around the same time.
As the cold front arrives on February 7, snow will fall over the country.
Snow showers in Scotland and portions of the Midlands are expected to cover practically all of England and Wales by February 12.
Snow accumulations will range from one to two inches across the board, with patches of four, six, and up to nine inches in isolated regions.
Snowfall will fall in tandem with the freezing temperatures until February 17, when totals in some regions may surpass 13 inches.
Why have there been no named winter storms this year?
The weather has been calmer throughout the Atlantic and to the northwest of Europe. But why is this so?
There are other elements at work, and the forces responsible for this year's absence of storms also had a role in December's cold spell, as per the BBC.
In prior years, the first designated storm occurred in early December. By the end of January, three storms would have developed, with repercussions on the UK.
Within a week in February 2022, three storms were named. Dudley, Eunice, and Franklin affected hundreds of thousands of houses.
According to the Association of British Insurers, the insurance claims from the three storms totaled about £500 million.
Storm Eunice was one of the most severe storms to batter the United Kingdom in 30 years, with rare red warnings issued over south Wales and southern England.
Eunice set a new England wind gust record of 122mph at The Needles on the Isle of Wight.
Windstorms in the United Kingdom are often triggered by small wobbles in an active jet stream (a corridor of high winds 30-40, 000 feet up in our atmosphere) over the Atlantic and headed towards northwest Europe.
Last year's autumn, which stretches from September to November in meteorological terms, as the third hottest on record.
While rainfall improved following a particularly dry spring and summer, it was still just barely above average.
December was the first month in 18 when the average temperature fell below the national average.
A "blocking weather pattern" contributed to December's chilly spell. This pattern existed over Western Europe at the time, preventing weather systems from reaching the UK.
The paucity of named storms in the UK this season is most likely owing to the location of the Polar jet stream, a ribbon of strong winds high in the stratosphere that creates and drives weather systems from the Atlantic to northwest Europe.
According to the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), the relationship between climate change and extra-tropical cyclones (storms that often impact northwest Europe) is still unknown.
They contend that windstorms in Europe have been less common in recent decades.
However, it is commonly acknowledged that when storms do occur, climate change is expected to exacerbate their severity, with larger rainfall totals and perhaps greater damage.
