'Arctic blast' to hit UK next week with chilling temperatures just days after thunderstorms

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It may sound like a drink you’d find in a supermarket somewhere in one of the fridge aisles, but weather forecasts for next week are suggesting the UK will face an “arctic blast” and chilling temperatures just days after intense thunderstorms.

The WXCharts website, which draws upon weather data from a service calls MetDesk, points to the exact dates of the weather event being next Wednesday (between midnight and 6am, and then between 9pm and 12am), Thursday (from 12am to 6am, then 9pm to 12am) and Friday (between midnight and 6am).

During these times, temperatures across the UK are expected to be in the single figures, between zero and five degrees Celsius.

The news comes after Brits were awestruck by severe thunder and lightning on Saturday evening and Sunday morning, with one user comparing the scenes to The War of the Worlds - the story about Martians invading Earth by H. G. Wells.

The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for the south of England and Wales between 9pm on Saturday and 6pm on Sunday, meaning “areas of heavy, possibly thundery rain may cause flooding and disruption”.

In its weekend weather forecast on Friday, the organisation said the last few days of the week offer a “mixed” outlook for the UK as the south experiences “pulses of heavy rain” and the north enjoys “sunnier skies”.

Its chief meteorologist, Matthew Lehnert, said: “Repeated areas of rain are likely to affect southern Britain over the next few days, generating some localised impacts into the weekend … There’s potential for further warnings this weekend.

“It’s a different story further north though, as high pressure brings warmer and sunnier conditions, with higher-than-average temperatures, particularly across parts of western Scotland. Eastern areas are likely to be cooler and at times, cloudier due to winds blowing off the North Sea.”

While the WXCharts forecast point to an incredibly cold few days, the Met Office said it would become “notably cool” and “remain generally unsettled” with showers, longer rain spells and blustery winds for most regions of the UK.

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