'Thundersnow' Set For Britain Today With Dangerous Mix Of Thunder And Ice
If you thought mother nature peaked last week after she gifted Britain with three storms in just five days, you may wish to think again.
Today, those living in Scotland and Northern Ireland have been told to brace themselves for a phenomenon called ‘thundersnow’.
This rare weather event occurs when very cold temperatures cause snow to fall instead of rain during a storm - haven’t we suffered enough!
The Met Office has issued a yellow warning across the north of the UK, which will remain in force until 8pm today.
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Residents can expect heavy snow showers, gusty winds, and frequent lightning, all of which may culminate in ‘thundersnow’.
The Met Office said: “The showers will be accompanied by strong, blustery winds, with gusts of 45 to 55mph possible, and a chance of 65mph on coasts. Blizzard conditions are likely over higher ground.
“There is a small chance that some of the showers could be accompanied by frequent lightning, which could impact power supplies, including some places outside of the warning area.
“Snow showers are increasingly likely to turn back to rain and sleet at low levels later Thursday morning and early afternoon, although remaining as snow above 200 to 300 metres.”
Traffic Scotland and Police Scotland have warned people to drive carefully and heavy snow has already been reported on the A9, M90, A92, A90, A95 and A96.
Road maintenance services have warned there are ‘challenging conditions’ and gritters are out on the roads.
Even at its lowest levels, 1 to 3 inches of snow is expected to fall, with up to 8 inches on higher ground.
The warning covers Central Scotland, Tayside and Fife, the Highlands and Western Isles, South West Scotland, Lothian and Borders, Strathclyde and Northern Ireland.
The effects of last week’s weather are still being felt, as The Environment Agency also warned severe flooding will continue, with 51 warnings and 42 alerts in place.
And if all that didn’t sound bad enough, a fourth storm could be on the way – Storm Gladys.
Last week, Storm Eunice well and truly caused havoc throughout the UK, resulting in trees being torn from their roots, lorries turning over on the motorways and, of course, the O2 losing part of its roof.
Sadly, at least three people died in the UK and one in Ireland during the storm, which saw winds reach 122mph on the Isle of Wight.
And over 400,000 homes were without power at the peak of the storm.
Abbi Murray