Britain braced for coldest winter in eight years

Extreme weather is expected in the north of England from tonight

Britain is braced for its coldest winter since the early 2010s, as an artic blast of strong winds and torrential rain look set to cover the north of England from as early as Monday night, according to experts. The Weather Company are warning that, after years of milder than average winters, December and January could see below average temperatures and a higher chance of very cold spells than in recent years. The Met Office is also expecting sunnier spells throughout the rest of this week, with frost and fog to hit on Thursday. If average temperatures drop more than 0.2 degrees below normal, at 3.5 degrees or lower, Britain will experience its coldest winter since 2012, in stark contrast to last year, which saw the warmest December on record. Leon Brown, head of meteorological operations at The Weather Company's Weather Channel arm, said: "People will get a shock after recent mild winters. It looks like a close call for this winter to be 0.3C below average, which would make it the coldest winter since the early 2010s. "A colder-than-average December is favoured, with Arctic influxes from the north-west due to the jet stream's position." The Met Office echoed this forecast, with their November-January forecast saying: "The chances of cold spells are higher than has been the case in recent years. Long-range computer models show increased chances of northwesterly winds.

"Temperatures will feel reasonably cold in late November. December 5-19 has temperatures close to or below average, with an increasing chance of wintry showers, especially in the North on high ground."

Six of the last 14 winters, stretching back to 2006/07, have been among the 10 warmest winters on record, but this year looks set to buck that trend. This one goes out to all those people who claim to prefer winter because it means you can wear nice knitwear. When will you learn?