TEMPERATURES could drop to unseasonable lows in late March and early April as a one in 250-year weather event hits Scotland.
Sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs), which tend to drop temperatures significantly and brought the Beast from the East, usually hit the UK every other winter.
However, this year has seen three, with the most recent one starting in the past few days over the north Atlantic.
READ MORE: Surgeon who worked in Gaza urges support for National's MAP emergency appeal
Professor Adam Scaife, head of long-range forecasting at the Met Office, said: “Although we have not seen it before, we recently documented the chances of an unprecedented three SSW events happening in one winter.
"Our research work, using multiple computer simulations, showed that this could occur about once in every 250 winters.”
The effects of the phenomenon take one to two weeks to impact the weather.
Forecasts across Scotland for this coming week show relatively clear skies and mild temperatures.
However, some long-range forecasts suggest that temperatures could fall across Scotland through the end of March and the start of April.
Accuweather predicts that Glasgow could see snowfall and low temperatures around 0 degrees during that timespan.
Meanwhile, the Met Office says temperatures across the UK will be near or slightly above average, but that "cooler interludes" could hit the north.
READ MORE: PM should block Stephen Kerr candidacy after Gaza funding row, says Keith Brown
Long range weather forecasting is challenging due to the difficulty of understanding how the atmosphere will evolve in the near future.
SSWs are disruptions in airflow 10-50 kilometres above the earth, which can cause shifts in air pressure.
According to the Met Office, these effectively block the UK off from the low-pressure systems over the Atlantic that cause the mild, wet conditions typical of Scottish weather.
Professor Scaife added, “Although this is very rare, we also found that the chance of multiple SSW events is increased during El Niño and so the chance of multiple events this winter is raised.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel