It is said that a weather event is occurring that could cause another “Beast of the East” and affect the UK at the end of the month. If you do, things can’t get any worse.
Researchers at the universities of Bristol, Exeter and Bath, found that sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) is currently developing well above the North Pole.
SSW events are some of the most extreme atmospheric phenomena and can see the polar stratospheric temperature rise to 50 ° C for a few days. These events can cause very cold weather, which often causes snowstorms
The famous “Beast of the Orient” of 2018 was caused by an SSW. The annoyance can take a few weeks to reach the surface or the process can only take a few days.
The study, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research and funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), included analysis of 40 observed SSW events.
The lead author of the study, Dr. Richard Hall said there was more chance of extreme cold and potentially snow over the next week or two.
He added: “While an extreme cold weather event is not a certainty, about two-thirds of SSWs have a significant impact on surface weather. At the moment it is difficult to say whether this event will be of a split or displacement type. “.
4 days agoDann Mitchell, an associate professor of atmospheric science at the University of Bristol and co-author of the study, added: “The extreme cold weather provided by these polar vortex breakdowns is a reminder of how suddenly our can change. time.
“Even with climate change warming our planet, these events will still occur, so we need to be adaptable to an increasingly extreme temperature range.”
The Met Office has forecast that we will experience some colder weather at the end of the month, but believes temperatures will not be as low as in 2018, specifically those that caused the beast in the east.
Met Office spokesman Nicola Maxey said: “You have the two events happening at the same time, so they are competing with each other in a certain sense. They are struggling to influence the UK, we are a very small point in the middle. of the ocean.
“The feeling right now is that we may see colder weather in late January to February, but probably the kind of weather we’re seeing right now, unlike what is popularly perceived as an Eastern beast.”