Rare freezing rain that poses risks for planes and downs trees will hit UK in days, warns Met Office
13 February 2025, 12:37 | Updated: 13 February 2025, 13:00
A weather phenomenon that is 'extremely hazardous' for planes will hit the UK in days.
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The rare weather event is expected to bring downpours with Wales experiencing the highest risk of icy conditions and travel delays.
Freezing rain is not very frequent in the UK, but it occurs when the water comes into contact with cold surfaces, turning the liquid into ice.
The perilous precipitation will move across the UK in the coming days and will be at its worst over the weekend.
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With half term approaching, experts fear that the freezing rain could impact families travelling to holiday destinations as many students are off school from Monday.
Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill explains how the rare precipitation develops: "We have something a bit warmer coming in, but underneath it closer to the surface, we have some colder air plunging through, and now that's important because it brings the risk of some freezing rain... It can cause some very icy conditions and could cause some problems."
In a Met Office briefing on YouTube, the meteorologist warned: "There is this risk through this weekend and into the beginning of next week of various spells of freezing rain mixed in with some sleet and snow at times as well... Any snow, any freezing rain, can cause some issues, so we may need to issue some warnings for these nearer the time"."
Wale isn't the only region where temperatures are plunging. The rest of the UK is also expected to feel bitterly cold.
London will warm up slightly to 5C on Sunday, getting chillier as you go up north.
County Durham and North Yorkshire will feel like -6C at the beginning of next week, with Aberdeenshire feeling like -5C.
The Met Office describes freezing rain as 'supercooled' water droplets, saying: "Freezing rain tends to start its life as snow, ice, sleet or hail, but passes through a layer of air that’s above 0 °C on the way down to the ground, melting into a liquid water droplet.
"If these droplets then fall through a zone of sub-zero air just above the ground, they become supercooled."
"When these supercooled droplets strike surfaces that are close to or below freezing, they freeze on impact forming a glaze of ice."
