'Rare' weather event forecast in UK - exactly when it may hit during snow storm

29 January 2024 , 18:49

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It will be cold and wet next week, say forecasters (Image: Getty Images)

Much of the country is set to experience wintry weather again soon - including the rare and dangerous phenomenon known as freezing rain.

Rain will hit cold surfaces and freeze instantly as temperatures plummet in the coming days. Striking weather maps show the phenomenon will occur across Scottish Highlands and Perth and Kinross on the evening of Tuesday February 6, and into the early hours of Wednesday February 7.

The maps, illustrated by forecasters at InMeteo, show other regions will experience snow - heavy in places - at the same time. The Mirror reported last week more than five inches of snow is expected to fall along a 200-mile stretch of the UK, but this forecast has since been revised. Snow is still expected but in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands, Perth and Kinross, Northumbria, Tyne and Wear, and County Durham throughout Tuesday February 6.

The Met Office describes this unique rain as a rare type of liquid precipitation that hits a cold surface and freezes immediately. It happened earlier this month, the Met Office said, across the northeast of England. Although the rain is visually impressive, it can pose a danger.

The weather service explained: "It can produce striking effects, as the rain drop spreads out momentarily across the surface before it freezes, encasing the surface in a layer of clear ice. However, it is not just these eye-catching scenes which the freezing rain can bring; the weight of the ice can sometimes be heavy enough to bring down trees and power lines, and the glaze of ice on the ground effectively turns roads and pathways into an ice rink. The freezing rain can also prove extremely hazardous for aircraft."

Gales, snow and rain to batter country today with 80mph wind gusts

The exclamation marks denote the unusual freezing rain parts of Scotland will see next week - in addition to snow

It has been particularly windy recently - and will remain so in many regions for a few days (PA)

While snow is anticipated in northern parts on Tuesday February 6, rain is most likely to fall across other areas. Early indications, by forecasters at InMeteo, suggest around 11mm of rain could fall across Cumbria and parts of north Wales. The picture may change and so, if temperatures are believed to drop further that week, these regions are likely to experience the unusual freezing rain.

It'll rain this week too, with the heaviest taking place on Wednesday across Scotland and northern England. A yellow weather warning for wind is also in place on Wednesday across most of Scotland, forecasters say.

Bradley Jolly