Scotland's weather: Heavy snow could be on the way

A sudden stratospheric warming above the North Pole could lead to Scotland being engulfed in snow, according to the Met Office.

Heavy snow could be set to hit the country once more. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

The weather event may lead to prolonged cold conditions across the UK with significant snow blanketing the nation.

Conditions will remain steady across the weekend with average temperatures around seven degrees Celsius. Spots of sunshine are expected on Saturday afternoon.

If the event impacts on UK weather the mercury will drop as we get into Sunday evening and could remain bitterly cold for a prolonged period.

Frank Saunders of the Met Office said: “A sudden stratospheric warming implies around a 70 per cent chance of cold conditions across the UK.

“There tends to be a lag of about 10 days before we see the downstream effects on the UK’s weather, as it takes time for the influence in the upper atmosphere to feed down to those levels where our weather happens.

“The outcome for the UK’s weather is still uncertain, but forecasts from computer models at the Met Office and at other centres are beginning to coalesce around a greater likelihood of cold conditions in the days and weeks to come.”