Met Éireann monitoring weather event which can lead to cold, dry conditions

Meteorologists are monitoring a sudden stratospheric warming event, which can lead to cold, dry weather coming into the north of Europe and across Ireland.

The 2018 Beast from the East, which came with freezing temperatures and huge snowfall in Ireland and the UK, partly occurred due to the onset of the meteorological phenomenon known as sudden stratospheric warming (SSW).

An SSW has been under way high up in the atmosphere since February 16th, however, how it will impact the weather in Ireland is uncertain.

Met Éireann posted an update on its website regarding the SSW, which they said is “ongoing and adds a high degree of uncertainty to the overall forecast”.

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“Given that caveat, the overall signal from the seasonal models for Ireland during spring (March, April, May), is for slightly above average temperatures with average rainfall. March, and possibly the beginning of April, are likely to be cooler and drier than average, with a transition to warmer and wetter conditions for May,” the update said.

Met Éireann reported on Thursday that throughout this weekend, temperatures will dip to about 6 degrees, with “cloudy” conditions and light showers. At night, temperatures will drop to “near freezing or slightly below”.

Winds will become northerly on Monday and scattered showers are expected, some “turning to sleet or snow on the hills and mountains”.

There is a “possibility” of frosty conditions and snow further on in the week if temperatures, in part attributed to the SSW, lead to a colder air mass flowing towards northwestern Europe.

UK warning

Meanwhile, the UK’s Met Office has issued a weather warning due to the “major SSW”.

“A major SSW often makes the jet stream meander more, which can lead to a large area of blocking high pressure over northern Europe, including the UK [and Ireland],” it said.

“This blocking high pressure can lead to cold, dry weather in the north of Europe, including the UK [and Ireland], with mild, wet and windy conditions more likely for southern areas of the Continent. However, this is not always the case and impacts on UK weather can also be benign when an SSW occurs.”

Snow and ice warnings are in place for Monday and Tuesday in northeastern parts of the UK as below-average temperatures are set to slide even further. The heaviest snowfalls will be in northern Scotland, but areas as far south as Lincolnshire will be impacted, the UK Met Office said on Friday.

“Cold, blustery northerly winds will continue to drive frequent showers of snow and hail into these areas on Tuesday,” the UK national forecaster said.

A cold snap hit parts of the country in December, and England just experienced its driest February in 30 years.

Temperatures in London are expected to be 6 degrees below the seasonal average on Thursday, while in Manchester they will be 5.6 degrees below normal on Wednesday, forecaster Maxar Technologies Inc. said in a daily note.

The late return of cold weather is partially due to an SSW, which can cause extreme cold in the northern hemisphere, according to the Met Office. Meteorologists saw signs of such warming taking place from late last month and expect its colder impacts to continue. – Additional reporting by Bloomberg