Snow could sweep region in brief icy blast

Dogs enjoying a previous snow flurry in Woolpit Picture: PAMELA BIDWELL/CITIZENSIDE.COM (Image: (c) copyright citizenside.com)

Being among the driest places in the UK, East Anglia is not generally known for its heavy snow – but since the Beast from the East brought chaos to the region last year, many are wary that the Arctic blast could return for a second helping.

Fortunately for many, that has not been the case so far – but with temperatures set to drop below freezing towards the end of next week, experts are not ruling out a brief flurry of snow.

Forecaster Adam Dury, from Weatherquest, said the next few days are expected to be dry, cloudy and mild – with only “a spit and spot of drizzle”.

While conditions will feel warm over the weekend and during the day on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, early morning temperatures are set to fall to -2 or -3C by Thursday, with the potential for ice to form on the roads – although this is a relatively low risk.

“When you get colder temperatures there is always a risk of ice,” Mr Dury explained.

If snow is going to sweep the region, he said, this would most likely be on Friday or Saturday morning when things will feel very chilly.

“There will be colder temperatures coming in Thursday night to Friday,” he said.

“If there is any snow it could be Friday or Saturday next week.”

However Mr Dury said if it does snow, it will quickly turn to rain as the day goes on.

“It will just be falling for half an hour to an hour,” he added.

Last year’s snow did not hit East Anglia until later in the winter. January was windy and wetter than usual – but apart from a few frosts, cold was not a serious problem.

The Beast from East arrived in late February and continued into early March – but only caused problems for a few days before the snow disappeared.