UK could be hammered by 'four day' snow barrage with two parts of England hit

James Rodger
·2-min read
UK set to be hammered by 'four day' snow barrage with two parts of England hit
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


The UK faces a "four day" snow barrage with flurries set to hammer into England as we head deeper into November and towards Christmas. WX Charts forecasts and maps, which use Met Desk data, show snow flurries across November 21 and 23.

In England, the Lake District could see 1cm per hour of snow and further south will be drenched by a wall of rain as the south east coast, capital city London and swathes of the Midlands including Birmingham face a hammering deluge.

Highland, Moray, Aberdeenshire, the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland face a centimetre per hour, while Inverness to Angus will also wake up to a dusting. In the north east of England, Newcastle could be struck by the white stuff.

READ MORE:State pensioners waking up to BBC TV Licence bills being reduced from £169 to £0

READ MORE:Key symptoms of winter bug 'wiping people out' across UK at twice the normal rate

READ MORE State pensioners warned 'leave your oven doors open after cooking'

The Met Office forecast from November 11 to November 20 explains: "Early next week will see a good deal of dry, settled weather as high pressure builds across the UK. However, after a bright start, increasingly cloudy conditions are likely to develop by midweek, with patchy drizzle possible at times. Some fog is also possible, this slow to clear.

"Later next week, it looks like turning more unsettled for a time, with some rain or showers, particularly towards the east. After a possible brief drier spell next weekend, it may become largely unsettled during the following week.

"Winds will be mainly light for many parts early next week, but breezier conditions seem likely to develop from later next week. Temperatures will be near or a little above average at first, but will tend to drop a little below average later."

The forecasting agency has also issued weather predictions for November 21 into early December, which is the dates affected by the WX Charts weather charts hinting at snow. Looking ahead to December 5, the forecasters from the Met Office said: "A general trend towards more unsettled conditions for all parts seems more likely than not through this period.

"Initially, there may be something of a north-south split, with more unsettled conditions towards the north whilst drier conditions persist towards the south. However, as we head into December, a more unsettled and mobile picture will probably develop across all parts.

"Temperatures will probably be close to or a little above average overall, although some colder interludes are possible, especially in the north."

Latest stories

  • Weather maps show where UK will be coldest this week amid -8C forecast

    Colder conditions are set to feature in the first week of December following a mild spell for the UK, the Met Office said.

  • Met Office map shows blast of Arctic air sweeping over UK as temperatures to plummet to -7C after mild weekend

    The cold snap might not last long

  • ‘It just keeps coming and coming’: Heavy lake-effect snow dumps more than 5 feet over parts of Great Lakes region

    Post-Thanksgiving travel will be treacherous in parts of the Great Lakes region on Monday with more lake-effect snow falling after the region was already buried under feet of it, while cold temperatures remain across a large swath of the United States.

  • These lights are being installed around a Welsh city - there's a problem if you see them flashing red or purple

    It is the first city in the UK to have the lights installed

  • Rhodes: British holidaymakers issued with torrential rain warning amid deadly Storm Bora flooding

    Holidaymakers are being warned of flooded properties and streets and possible power cuts as Storm Bora hits

  • UK weather: Snow forecast as Britain faces chilly week with Met Office predicting -7C frost

    Temperatures to plunge after mild weekend weather with snow forecast for Scotland and northern England

  • UK weather: Temperatures forecast as low as -10C

    Forecasters are predicting a widespread frost across the UK, with the potential for -10C (14F) in some places. Most areas will turn dry on Monday evening and, as skies clear, temperatures are set to plummet overnight. "Rural areas, mainly in Scotland, could dip as low as -10C (14F), while -6C (21F) is possible in parts of Northern Ireland and north Wales," said Sky News weather producer Chris England.

  • Storm Bora floods homes, streets in Greek island of Rhodes

    Torrential rains flooded homes, businesses and roads in the popular Greek tourist island of Rhodes on Sunday, forcing authorities to temporarily ban the use of vehicles as Storm Bora pounded the country for a second day. On Saturday, a man died in flash floods which hit another Greek island in the northern Aegean. The fire service received more than 650 calls to pump water out of flooded buildings on Rhodes island and evacuated 80 people to safer ground, with the city of Ialysos hit the hardest.

  • Cost of switching off UK wind farms soars to ‘absurd’ £1bn

    British bill payers have spent an “absurd” £1bn to temporarily switch off wind turbines so far this year as the grid struggles to cope with their power.

  • Snow to hit parts of Scotland as temperatures drop below freezing

    Temperatures in parts of Scotland could hit as low as -8 degrees celcius as the colder winter weather hits the country.

  • Can the Panama Canal reinvent itself before the next drought?

    STORY: :: Tres Hermanas, Panama This unpaved road crosses the rural and self-sustaining Tres Hermanas community in Panama. But these lush valleys, home to dozens of towns, will be submerged if the Panama Canal Authority moves ahead with a plan to build a massive reservoir on the Indio River. :: Rodolfo Hernandez, Tres Hermanas resident “All that you see here, the green trees seen throughout this area, everything would be lost.” Rodolfo Hernandez is a local resident. “…The Indio River community has not yet said yes to them.” The proposal to dam the river over the next six years pits the future of thousands of people against the water needs of the powerful Canal Authority. Some don’t want to leave. Others are focused on getting fair compensation if they are forced to move. And public opposition could derail the entire project. :: Lake Alajuela, PanamaBut with more extreme weather seen over the last decade set to continue, the $1.6 billion dollar proposal seems as necessary as it seems extreme. :: Record-setting droughtTres Hermanas sits here. The state-owned Canal Authority aims to create a vast dam on the Rio Indio to secure extra freshwater. The 50-mile-long artificial waterway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans relies on freshwater to operate its locks and, the Authority says, provide drinking water. Ricaurte Vazquez is the administrator of the Panama Canal Authority. :: Ricaurte Vazquez, Administrator, Panama Canal Authority “…And that imposes a relative disadvantage in relation to all other maritime navigation systems in the world." :: Panama Canal AuthorityWhy? Because last year was the third driest year in the canal’s 110-year history. :: Lake Gatun, PanamaAnd meteorologists forecast more severe droughts and faster water evaporation amid hotter temperatures. The waterway is Panama’s main source of hard-currency revenue and accounts for 3.1% of the country’s GDP. It is critical to U.S. imports of vehicle and commercial goods from Asia, and for U.S. exports of commodities, including liquefied natural gas. The latest drought forced vessel traffic to be restricted. But the new plan would allow up to 15 extra canal transits a day during the dry season. The Authority believes the Rio Indio reservoir project is the most complete solution to more frequent droughts. VAZQUEZ: "We understand that this is the most important challenge to maintain the canal's sustainability in the long term in the face of demand, due to Panama's population growth, which will require fresh drinking water for its consumption and that leads us to the national conversation of how to tackle this problem." :: Approvals and relocation The project must still pass a long approval process, including a public consultation. But some infrastructure work, including a bridge, is already visible. The Ministry of Public Works has said the bridge is for cars and people to cross the river. Ilya Espino de Marotta is the canal’s deputy administrator. :: Ilya Espino de Marotta, Deputy Administrator, Panama Canal Authority "Of course, the most complicated part is the process of resettling people. These are conversations that need to be held individually with each family...” To contain the Rio Indio, some 2,260 people would have to be relocated, according to an initial survey by the Canal Authority. 2,000 more would be at least partially impacted. A more accurate census should be completed in January. The project has set aside $400 million, mainly for relocations. But opinions are divided. Some would be willing to sell their land, while others want to fight the project. Dilubino Agraje Dominguez represents the Rio Indio communities through the activist group Countrymen Coordinator for Life. :: Dilubino Agraje Dominguez, Representative, Rio Indio communities"The countryside, nature, their peace for life, for work is what makes them happy. You can show them beautiful, modern things, all well-arranged, but it is not the same for the resident who is used to living under his thatched roof, taking his time to go to the mountain and resting at home whichever day he wants…” The shipping industry is apprehensive.:: November 8, 2023The country’s Supreme Court recently suspended a controversial mining contract with Canada's First Quantum Minerals, after broad public opposition. And instrumental in blocking the contract was Countrymen Coordinator for Life. :: Another option There is an alternative: to transfer water from an existing reservoir fed by the Bayano River. This plan could be finished sooner, without relocations, and is gaining traction among local communities. “There is a real importance to maintain healthy rivers...” Professor LeRoy Poff is an expert on aquatic ecology from the University of Colorado. “I think from an environmental damage point of view that this dam has many negative impacts and very few positive benefits that couldn't be acquired through this alternative project.” :: Panama Canal AuthorityBut the Canal Authority discarded the Bayano option 8 years ago over higher costs and its location. And lawyers say it could mean complicated negotiations with the hydroelectric power providers involved. Faced with a changing climate, Deputy Administrator Espino thinks both projects will be needed in the long run. Ahead of the next drought, the Canal wants shippers to consolidate cargoes and could deploy water recycling measures, if needed.For residents of Tres Hermanas, resource-intense expansion must have a limit. HERNANDEZ: "We are not against the progress of our country, our country must progress, but it must be according to what is necessary and not harming its people."

  • Nearly two million people remain under lake-effect snow warnings

    Nearly two million people remain under lake-effect snow warnings through early Monday. CNN’s Polo Sandoval reports.

  • Bear snared after three day supermarket standoff with Japan police

    Authorities in Akita prefecture had struggled to locate the animal, which attacked a man and has eaten large quantities of meat

  • At least two people killed in Greece as Storm Bora sparks warnings

    Greece's civil protection service says they have issued an emergency alert, warning of torrential rains and strong winds in the northeast, the centre, and the region around Athens.View on euronews

  • Bear chases moose family into pond

    This is the moment a bear chased a small herd of three moose into a pond in Yukon, Canada on July 17. One of the moose turned around and challenged the bear, causing it to give up on its pursuit.

  • At least 13 people dead as Thailand and Malaysia face worst floods in decades

    Hundreds of thousands of people displaced due to floods in Southeast Asia

  • Cheaper loans on table to urge UK motorists to EVs, plus cuts in fines for firms

    Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds says there is ‘no route to net zero’ that ignores concerns of businesses after wave of closures

  • ITV I'm A Celebrity bosses made preparations to evacuate stars following torrential rain in the jungle

    It has been consistently raining in the Australian jungle

  • Lake-effect snow blankets the Great Lakes as Thanksgiving travelers head home

    Lake-effect snow blanketed swaths of the U.S. as Thanksgiving travelers journeyed home this holiday weekend, with more snow expected to fall over the Great Lakes region through the week. While the weather event dumped dozens of inches of snow in upstate New York, including nearly 4 feet (1.22 meters) off Lake Ontario, as well as parts of Pennsylvania and Michigan, flinty fans scoffed at the flurries and numbing temperatures during Sunday's nighttime NFL game in Buffalo. Lake-effect snow is caused when warm, moist air is blown across a body of water and mixes with colder, drier air, creating narrow bands of often heavy snow on land.

  • Former Tesco boss wants to send power from Morocco to Great Britain using subsea cable

    Dave Lewis says the near-constant stream of clean electricity could supply the grid as early as 2030