When will it next snow in the UK?

The Met Office has issued its verdict on whether or not snow can be expected in the UK next week. This week's "extremely" mild weather has seen record-breaking November temperatures, including the hottest Bonfire Night on record. But as we approach mid-November, winter may be arriving, and reports of potential snowfall are gaining attention.
Speaking to The Independent, Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge said that snowfall is "likely" expected in northern parts of Britain next week - but he also added that warm air coming from the south means it is still "quite likely."

Simon Partridge said that next week's forecast is still "very likely" (Owen Humphreys/PA Wire)
"Snowfall is likely until the end of next week and into next weekend," he explained. "There are many different computer models, and they all run several times a day, but some of them are predicting cold air coming from the north, potentially leading to snowfall in Scotland."

But Mr. Partridge warned that a lot could change between the current forecast and next weekend. Some weather systems are predicting a flow of warm air from the south – which could result in the mild temperatures and gray conditions seen this week.

"At the moment, it looks like warm air is coming from the south and cold air is coming from the north," he said. "It won't take long for the warm air to move over, which means it will probably be similar to this week."

But he added that there is a "definite possibility" of cold air reaching northern parts of Britain, which could result in some snowfall. He added that although the country has experienced above-average temperatures this week, snowfall in Scotland in mid-November was not unusual.
"At the moment, any potential for snowfall appears to be confined to Scotland," he said. "But just as warmer air can come in, colder air can also come in from a little further south. Everything is still to be determined, and we'll see how the forecast unfolds over the coming week."

This comes after a mild October, which saw above-average temperatures. The average October temperature was temporarily 0.7°C above the 1991-2020 average, and Scotland and Northern Ireland experienced slightly warmer temperatures than the rest of the country.