Met Office says wintry weather could split the UK in two

A cold weather front set to hit the UK next week could split the country in two, though experts have cautioned that there is a great deal of uncertainty around how cold it could be and which parts of Britain might feel any freeze.

The block of cold air will bring wintry weather to parts of Britain as it moves over the UK from Norway, while the areas of the country it doesn't reach will remain mild, grey and damp. Temperatures could drop as low as -8C, the Met Office suggested, though only on higher ground in Scotland where there is snow cover - something not particularly unusual for this time of year.

The Met Office has also emphasised the uncertainty when it comes to how the cold front will move across the UK, and therefore which areas will see the mercury drop the lowest.

Outlining predictions for the coming days, Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern said computer models vary on where exactly the cold front will 'split' the country in half, leaving a colder, brighter north, with mild, grey, damp weather to the south.

Read more: How to keep your home warm during very cold weather (The Conversation)

But he said there is lots of uncertainty around where that boundary will sit, with next week becoming "very uncertain" as far as the forecast is concerned.

He said there is a large variation between computer models around the cold front, with confidence decreasing as the days go on. Graphs plotting confidence levels in the forecast put it at 'higher than usual' for the coming weekend, but he said from Monday the confidence level "drops off a cliff" and by Wednesday is "as least confident as you can get".

Read more: How far in advance snow can be accurately forecast, according to the Met Office (Yahoo News UK)

The 10-day forecast from the Met Office from, 6 -15 February, describes it as "unsettled", saying: "Cloud and rain being pushed in from the Atlantic may well be forced to track further south across the south of the country where it may remain milder but with more persistent rain, especially in the west. Exactly where the boundary between these two regimes lies is still rather uncertain at the moment.

It adds: "However, there is a chance of wintery conditions developing more widely across the northern edge of this boundary through the second half of next week for a time."

A Met Office spokesman told Yahoo News UK that temperatures could drop to -8C in parts of Scotland next week - though only on higher grounds where there is snow cover. He said that is not particularly unusual for this time of year, pointing out that a low of -15C was recorded in Dalwhinnie, Invernessshire, in January.