Full list of UK counties set for snow as ‘polar blast’ sweeps in

Snow is already showing up in the latest forecasts

GFS model data suggests 11 counties across central and northern Scotland could be affected, with up to 5cm potentially settling on some of the country’s highest peaks.

The forecast comes as attention turns to the months ahead, with this year’s El Niño expected to be particularly strong and potentially bringing some unsettled winter conditions.

Forecasters are also keeping an eye on Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW), which can occur when the polar vortex weakens. 

The Met Office describes SSW as a rapid rise in temperatures in the stratosphere, which sits roughly 10km to 50km above the Earth.

The change can interfere with the jet stream and allow cold air to move south, potentially creating a “blocking pattern” that keeps colder conditions and snow in place for longer.

There is no current suggestion that the UK is heading for anything close to an extreme cold-weather event.

The latest GFS projections do, however, point to a possible early taste of winter, with snow forecast in parts of the country on 16 and 17 October.

For now, the snow forecast is limited to Scotland’s higher elevations, with the wider winter outlook still uncertain.

UK counties facing snow in October:

• Sutherland
• Ross-shire and Cromartyshire
• Inverness-shire
• Nairnshire
• Banffshire
• Aberdeenshire
• Angus
• Perthshire
• Argyllshire
• Dunbarton
• Stirlingshire