With conservationists warning that the prolonged winter weather is damaging wildlife, Britain is on track to suffer its coldest March in more than 50 years.
Forecasters said the latest cold spell was keeping average temperatures several degrees below the norm, and that the next seven days will be chillier than usual.
The Central England Temperature – covering an area bounded by Lancashire, Bristol and London – shows temperatures have been 2.8C lower than normal.
‘It’s not unusual for it to snow in March, in fact we are far more likely to see snow at Easter than at Christmas. What is unusual for March is how persistent the cold weather and snow is,’ said MeteoGroup forecaster Matt Dobson.
More snow is expected on Friday, said Dobson, adding that the cold weather and snow storms across the north were likely to linger throughout the week and could even lead to blizzard conditions in Scotland.
The last time March was so cold was in 1962, when the average temperature was 2.4C (36F) – or 4.1C below the norm.
Up to four inches of snow was predicted to settle in parts of Scotland and north England by this morning, with more expected to fall during the day as temperatures hover around a bitter 3C.
‘This is certainly unusually cold for this time of year. It’s very cold for mid-March when we should expect much higher temperatures.’ - MeteoGroup forecaster Matt Dobson
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