The Met Office has issued an alert over an “extremely rare” phenomenon that could lead to a “new beast from the east”

This weather event only occurs once every 250 years

The UK has been warned it is experiencing a rare weather phenomenon that could cause heavy snowfall this month.

According to BirminghamLive, Exacta weather forecaster James Madden said a phenomenon known as sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) is occurring and could bring “more meaningful cold/snowfall in March” “.

He said: “So far we haven't really seen a sustained easterly development this winter, with more winds coming from the north during the cold and snowy periods. Essentially, the cold hasn't been able to penetrate deep into these areas,” he said. This prevents snowfall from being carried further south.

“However, this particular sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) did dissipate the polar vortex, and almost all outputs and scenarios reviewed in hindsight put us in a strong blocking mode for some sustained period starting in late February and March/early April.

In its forecast for March 11 to March 20, the Met Office said: “The weather will gradually change early next week, with dry, bright weather and light winds slowly blowing in from the west, replacing fairly persistent clouds and showers. Affecting the east.

“This situation is likely to continue until at least the middle of next week, before Atlantic clouds, winds and showers begin to threaten again. Stable weather conditions are likely to continue for much of next week, but from mid-to-late next week there will be heavy rainfall. Might get bigger again.

“After this, the most likely scenario is that a 'southward' Atlantic weather system will dominate, with mild, cloudy and humid weather in particular in the south and east, while the northwest will remain more stable. Overall temperatures Probably close to average.”

In the latest update, Met Office officer Professor Adam Scaife explains more about what may be happening.

“While we haven't seen it before, we recently documented the potential for three unprecedented SSW events in one winter,” he said via Metro.

“Our research work using multiple computer simulations shows that this happens about once every 250 winters.”

Scaife added: “While this is very rare, we also see an increased chance of multiple SSW events… and therefore an increased chance of multiple SSW events this winter.”

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