Severe gales and snow are expected to mark the start of spring as Storm Jake sends temperatures plummeting.
The Met Office issued yellow weather warnings last night, and forecasters expect snow, ice and wind to cause travel disruption today. The cold spell follows the warmest winter since records began 350 years ago. Parts of the country are set for gales and up to 10cm (4in) of snow on high ground.
Storm Jake is expected to sweep across southwest Wales and England with isolated gusts of 70mph on the coast and winds of 50mph inland.
However, its impact is expected to be less severe than other storms that have battered Britain this winter. Storm Desmond broke rainfall records in December and led to widespread flooding in Cumbria and Lancashire.
Residents in Manchester, Newcastle, Scarborough and Leeds can expect a drop in temperatures of up to 6C and wintry showers today. According to the Met Office, the south will be worst affected with some areas receiving a dusting of 2cm to 5cm of snow, and up to 10cm on ground above 100m.
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Alex Burkill, a forecaster at the Met Office, said that it would be “noticeably colder” this week. “With the timing of these wintry showers coming across, you’d imagine there could be some disruption to morning rush hour around those areas,” he said. “Even if the snowfall is not that great, we could see icy surfaces if they are left untreated.”
The weather warning came as scientists announced that the comet P/2016 BA14 PanSTARRS will pass the Earth at a distance of 2.1 million miles on March 22, the closest any comet has reached for more than 200 years. In July 1770 Lexell’s Comet passed within 1.4 million miles. Although this may seem like a large distance, it is just nine times the average distance from the Earth to the Moon, and represents 1 per cent of the distance between the Earth and Mars. The comet is unlikely to provide a particularly memorable display, as viewing will be “a struggle for anyone but advanced amateur astronomers and obviously professionals”, according to Robert Massey of the Royal Astronomical Society.
In northeast Scotland, the Met Office yesterday confirmed that a “fireball” seen hurtling through the sky was not weather-related — effectively confirming the object, which caused a sonic boom, as a meteor. Police had received a number of calls reporting a big bright flash and a rumbling sound in the sky.