Get ready for big freeze!

Jan 2 2008 by Joanne Douglas, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

A FREEZING cold snap is due to hit Huddersfield hard.

Weather experts predict that Siberian winds will freeze Britain, with ice and sleet expected to cause chaos on the roads.

Paul Stevens, the Salendine Nook meteorologist, said: “I would advise people to wrap up warm, because it’s going to get really cold.

“I’ve heard predictions of -17°C – about zero Fahrenheit – but I think that is a bit extreme. Maybe in the snowfields of the Highlands, but certainly not in Huddersfield.”

The cold winds are being forced west from Siberia and are bringing a large area of high pressure.

Strong winds are expected to batter the east coast, but the west of the country will escape the worst of the gales.

Mr Stevens expects temperatures to plummet to -5°C (23°F) in Huddersfield over the coming days and we may see the first snow of winter.

He added: “By the end of today it will feel much colder than we have experienced so far and I think this will remain into tomorrow.

“There could be some snow, possibly up to five centimetres in some areas of the country.

“It will feel bitterly cold, but hopefully by the weekend we will be back to the mild weather.’’

That, though, will be a brief respite.

Mr Stevens added: “The indications are that as we get further into January and the early part of February it is looking like it will be very cold and the freezing temperatures will return.”

Nationally, weather forecasters are predicting chaos on the roads as Britain returns to work this week, with snow expected to hit the North on Sunday and Monday.

Forecasters believe the temperature will remain close to freezing for much of January, with wet and windy weather also expected.

The Highways Agency is expected to have gritting vehicles on stand-by throughout the country.

As for the rest of the year, Mr Stevens says it’s too early to predict if we will have a hot summer. But some experts believe we should keep our umbrellas to hand throughout the year.

WHENEVER Britain gets a taste of cold and snowy easterly winds, as it will tomorrow and on Friday, Britons are all too often ready to declare a “Siberian Blast”.

So is there any basis for claiming that we are about to be engulfed by the sort of conditions regularly experienced during the Siberian winter?

Or is the origin of this cold air somewhat closer to home, in eastern Europe?

The latter is the case.

Top temperatures tomorrow will be between 0°C (32°F) and 3°C (37°F). In Siberia the temperatures is likely to be between -7C and -12C!