The “Beast from the East” is a loosely defined meteorological term describing a period of exceptionally cold and snowy weather across the UK sourced from Siberia.
The last time a beast from the east visited the UK was back in March 2018, when from the 28th of February to the 2nd of March and from the 16th to the 18th of March 2018 bitterly cold conditions brought very disruptive snowfall to much of the UK. Snow depths ranged from 10-15cm inland to up to 30cm on high ground, some of the deepest snow ever experienced in parts of the UK.
Looking into next week, temperatures are forecast to decrease significantly across much of the British Isles. Infact, temperatures are likely to fall into the weekend with highs on Sunday ranging ranging from 2-4C inland, with some precipitation around. Initially on Sunday this precipitation is likely to fall as rain.
However, progressing into next week there is a strong signal that more of this will fall as snow, and some of this may become disruptive. The details in terms of just how cold it will get, and in terms of where & when the snow will fall remain uncertain. Some computer models restrict the most severe of the cold and snowy conditions to central and Northern Britain. Others, such as the “ECMWF” model, push it into much of the south producing bitterly cold conditions with heavy snow here early next week. The details regarding how far south west the cold will get are still presenting as uncertainties in the forecast.
The overall trend, however, for much colder conditions next week is growing in confidence. Keep an eye on postings in the coming few days.