Scotland’s weather: Just as things were heating up … winter comes back

LAST week, Scotland rolled up its sleeves and enjoyed some of the hottest weather in March since records began.

Today, it seems that winter is back with a vengeance, with the arrival of an Arctic blast that will see much of Scotland covered in snow.

Weather forecasters have predicted between 5cm and 10cm could fall across the country over the next two days.

The worst hit areas will include the Grampian and Highland regions, which are expecting widespread snow.

It follows a week when much of Scotland basked in glorious sunshine, enjoying temperatures warmer than Madrid, Rome, Athens and Barcelona.

The Met Office said that March had been “unseasonably warm” but cold air from the Norwegian Sea was heading over to blast Britain with icy frosts.

Last night, Fraser Ralston, a forecaster for the Met Office said they had issued a yellow weather warning for most of Scotland for today.

He said: “There is a generally wintery outlook for the whole of Scotland with significant snowfall developing in the Grampian and Highland region today.

“There will also potentially be widespread snow in Fort William, Angus, Dundee and Perthshire which could see between five and 10cm of snowfall even on the lower ground.

“This cold front will move south and affect Central and South Scotland tomorrow, including Lothian and Borders, Lanarkshire and Dumbartonshire, although the snowfall will not be as significant on the lower ground and more likely to be slushy.

“There will also be a brisk north-east wind, which will make it feel colder.

“However, Argyll, Ayrshire and Galloway and generally the south-west corner of Scotland will escape most of the snow.”

He added: “This is going to be quite a change from the weather we have just had where temperatures in Scotland averaged between 16 and 23 degrees Celsius.

“This week we are looking at temperatures between one and six degrees which is a big drop.”

Forecasters said Wednesday would be the best day in Scotland this week – a dry day with sunshine with Thursday and Friday set to be milder.

Met Office forecaster Helen Waite added: “In the north of Scotland there is rain lingering that will spread towards the southern parts of Scotland.

“We will then start to have colder air pushing in from the north and that is what is going to turn things more wintery.

“Today, northern Scotland will start to see outbreaks of snow on higher ground and the brunt of the rain will begin to move slowly south, so there will be outbreaks of rain for quite a lot of people.

“Tomorrow, the rain across northern England will turn wintery and snow could fall, but it will not settle on the lower levels.

“Wednesday will remain cold, with temperatures of -5 in Northern England, and most places will see further wintery showers across the UK, especially on higher ground.

“But at night, it will begin to ease off with very cold air lingering across most areas.

Managing director of Glenshee Ski Centre Graham McCabe said there would need to be two days of heavy snow to get the ski-season kick started again.

He said: “The problem is that the snow will be falling on such warm ground. We’ve had such lovely weather recently that there is no snow-base left. We would need a two-day snow storm to get things going again.

“The daffodils are out and the season is just about winding down. There are so many hours of daylight now that afternoon temperatures can get quite high which means that the snow won’t settle.”

He added: “We would love to think that this snow could get the season going again, but I don’t think its likely. However, we always live in hope.”