Snow could soon be making its way back to the UK, according to brand new weather maps showing widespread snowfall and potential blizzard conditions, with up to 54mm an hour expected in some areas. The latest maps from forecaster WXCharts indicate that snow is set to begin falling from midnight on Tuesday, January 27, and continue for a whole 24 hours, with very few places forecast to be spared.
The early hours of the morning, from 3am to 6am, are set to be when snowfall is most widespread. At 3am, the whole of Northern Ireland appears purple on the weather maps, indicating snow, along with large parts of England and Wales. The wintry conditions are shown stretching as far north as Wick in northern Scotland and as far south as London and Exeter in Devon, while also covering northern England, parts of Wales, and the Midlands.
Cities and regions potentially affected include Bath, Bristol, Wiltshire, parts of Sussex, and major urban areas such as Blackpool, Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent and Birmingham. Heavy snow is also forecast across the Cairngorms National Park. As the day progresses, the snow band appears to shift further east, continuing its way across the Midlands, northern England and eastern Scotland.
The Met Office, however, offers a more cautious and nuanced forecast for the rest of January.
The Met Office's long-range forecast for the period of January 25 to February 3 reads: "Weather systems moving in from the Atlantic will continue to attempt to push in from the west, but tending to stall in the vicinity of the UK as they encounter high pressure to the north and northeast.
"As a result, further spells of rain or showers are likely at times. These may be heavy and persistent, especially in the south and west, with the best of any drier interludes in the far north and northeast.
"Whilst mild conditions are expected to encroach into the south and southwest at times, it is likely to turn somewhat colder through this period, bringing the risk of some snow showers, most likely across hills in Scotland and northern England."
The UK began the year with Storm Goretti, which brought strong winds and heavy snowfall, leaving thousands without power and forcing the closure of hundreds of schools.
The Met Office said the storm was a "multi-hazard event with exceptionally strong winds, heavy snowfall, and significant rainfall."
The runways at Birmingham Airport and East Midlands Airport were even closed overnight on January 8 due to the heavy snowfall.
The UK recorded its coldest January night in 15 years this January 2026. Temperatures in Altnaharra, in the Scottish Highlands, dropped to -18.9C in the night of January 9, which is the lowest January overnight temperature since 2010.
According to the Met Office, the lowest January temperature ever recorded in the UK was -27.2C in Braemar, Aberdeenshire on January 10, 1982.
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