'Polar Vortex collapse' set to send temperatures plunging - Brits could face freezing weather conditions
6 March 2025, 08:08 | Updated: 6 March 2025, 08:16
A late cold snap could affect the UK, due to a polar vortex collapse that is likely to cause extreme winter conditions across North America and Canada.
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The weather phenomenon is expected in the middle of March - bringing severe cold. It may also affect the UK and Europe
A polar vortex collapse occurs when the layer between 10km and 50km above Earth's surface warms up to 50 degrees in just two days. The area of low pressure and cold air that surrounds the North and South poles weakens, allowing the freezing Arctic air to move south, leading to extreme weather conditions and unpredictable weather patterns.
AccuWeather's Lead Meteorologist Paul Pastelok told The Independent: "We are predicting a displacement of the polar vortex on the Europe and eastern Canada side of the polar.
"When the Polar Vortex is disrupted - whether stretched, displaced, or split - it can, but does not always, impact this polar jet stream."
"The timing is uncertain for North America but could see a change in the pattern for late March into early April."
The Met Office said: "The stratosphere polar vortex is now weakening rapidly."
They added: "Over the last few days, the forecasts have become very confident and we are almost certain there will be a sudden stratospheric warming in mid-March. This is when the mid stratospheric wind is predicted to reverse from westerly to easterly."
“SSWs don’t always impact our weather but if they do it can take a few weeks before impacts might be felt on the earth surface.
“If this happens this would act as a factor in favouring blocked/slowly evolving patterns for the remainder of March and could bring colder weather to the UK.”
A similar event in February caused extended spells of severe cold and heavy snow, particularly in eastern and northern Scotland.
This event could be stronger than the one in February and reportedly could affect anywhere in the northern hemisphere.
A Met Office spokesman said "about 70 per cent of sudden stratospheric warming events lead to cold conditions with easterly winds across northern Europe and the UK."
