Exact date snow to fall this month as Met Office issues fresh forecast

5 January 2024, 12:51

By Kieran Kelly

@kellyjourno

The Met Office has issued a new snow and ice warning for later this month, with Brits in for a fresh cold snap.

It has been a wet start to the year, with some places in the UK seeing more rain in the first five days than the average amount for January.

While this is expected to continue for a few more days, causing widespread flooding across England, the Met Office has warned Brits they could be in for a cold snap later this month.

Its new long-range forecast, which runs from January 19 to February 2, reads: "The risk of impacts from cold, including ice and snow is greater than normal.

"It is likely to be drier than recent weeks, but what does fall is more likely to be of a wintry nature."

Read More: Flooding spreads across Britain: Party boat sinks in Thames amid mass evacuations as rivers Trent and Severn burst banks

Read More: Exact date Arctic 'freezing fog' blast will hit the UK, as Met Office issues yellow warning for rain

The long-range forecast goes on: "While there is a chance of brief, unsettled spells, which would bring milder air for a time, it would likely also be accompanied by a period of sleet or snow."

The Met Office does add the caveat that it is unclear when the cold snap would come, though it seems likely to happen at the end of January or the start of February, according to its forecast dates.

"Overall the main theme will be much more in the way of settled conditions through this period," they said.

For now, the main theme will continue to be rain, with hundreds of flood warnings in place across the UK.

The Environment Agency has said more than 1,000 homes have been flooded across England this week.

In east London, several people were evacuated from buildings after a canal in Hackney Wick burst its banks.

And Canada Water Tube station in the south-east of the capital was also affected by the flooding, witnesses reported.

It comes as Storm Henk continued to wreak havoc across much of the southern half of England, with heavy rain causing flooding and travel disruption.

Two people have died in the storm, as parts of Nottinghamshire, Worcestershire, the West Midlands, Bedfordshire, Gloucestershire, Leicestershire and West Sussex have all seen flooding.