Beast from the East 2.0 to keep Europe shivering into next week

A second "beast from the east" cold snap will overspread much of Europe by the weekend, lingering into the first week of spring, but there will be key differences from the previous cold outbreak, particularly in parts of the United Kingdom.


The instigator for this latest cold blast is a familiar one.

Blocking high pressure aloft between Iceland, Scotland and Scandinavia will help pull cold air from Scandinavia and western Russia west and south into Europe through this weekend.

The phrase "Beast from the East" refers to the fact this cold air arrives on strong winds blowing east-to-west from Scandinavia over the North Sea into the British Isles and western Europe.

Interestingly, this atmospheric blocking can still be traced back to a strange split of the polar vortex over a month ago.

"We're still seeing the effects of the sudden stratospheric warming event that commenced February 11," said Katie Greening, meteorologist with The Weather Company, an IBM Business, based in the U.K.



The Cold's Arrival

Temperature drops of 10 degrees celsius can be expected as the cold air arrives Friday into the weekend, Greening said.

"Sunday will be the coldest day with maximum temperatures struggling to lift above freezing across the U.K., Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, northern France and southern Scandinavia."

Greening added wind chill values may dip as low as minus 10 degrees C - equivalent to the mid-teens Fahrenheit.

With cold air blowing over the North Sea and an upper-level pocket of cold air, areas of snow showers and squalls are once again a likelihood to the U.K, Ireland, northern France and southern Scandinavia this weekend.

The U.K. Met Office issued "amber warnings" for snow and ice for parts of England this weekend, including the London metro area, with the potential of "travel delays on roads, stranding some vehicles and passengers".

https://weather.com