Atmospheric Analysis of the Cold Late February and Early March 2018 over the UK

SPEAKER | Katie Greening, Meteorologist at the Weather Company, Birmingham.

A strong blocking anticyclone developed over Scandinavia through the last week of February and persisted into early March 2018, driving a bitter easterly wind from Siberia, bringing a severe cold outbreak and significant snowfall to Britain. A second spell of severe weather and low temperatures then returned to the UK on 17-19th March. The severe weather was preceded by a split in the stratospheric polar vortex and onset of a sudden stratospheric warming event. Here, we revisited the severe cold outbreak that impacted Britain, discussed the sequence of events and synoptic set-up, followed by a more in-depth examination of the contributing factors, including a sudden stratospheric warming event.