The weather event that caused the Beast from the East in Ireland and the UK in 2018 is taking place, experts have confirmed.
The Met Office in the UK has confirmed the major sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) event is happening and could bring a blast of polar weather to Ireland and the UK.
The winds are expected to change over the North Pole in the coming days with the unusual east to west swing potentially causing another Beast from the East.
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The same process caused the event in 2018 which saw huge snowfall in Ireland and caused the country to come to a standstill with no transport and schools closed.
While weather officials are monitoring the system rolling in, they say it is still a couple of weeks off with early March pinpointed as the period we'll see the effects.
They have also said that it's not guaranteed the weather system will have the same impact or bring the same big freeze as 2018. In 2019, a similar event caused little to no effect and it all depends on where the high pressure system lands.
It can cause a dip in temperatures because when the high altitude, westerly winds reverse, the easterly winds that take their place progress southwards through the atmosphere.
On their journey they can weaken the Jet Stream, which can in turn lead to higher pressure which can, sometimes, lead to a cold plunge.
Meteorologist Aidan McGivern said this all meant there was a “watching brief” for the UK but no reason to fret right now.
Meanwhile Irish weather expert Alan O'Reilly from Carlow Weather has shared warning signs that show the potential upcoming Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) event could be a 'major' one.
It was a major SSW that brought the ‘Beast from the East’ to Ireland five years ago, causing the country to come to a standstill with widespread heavy snow.
The independent forecaster is monitoring the possibility of an SSW event and said there are early signs such as a "warming up in the Stratosphere" and the direction of the winds that mean the SSW event could also be a "major" one.
Sharing weather models on his social media accounts, he wrote: "Things are warming up in the Stratosphere and winds are expected to reverse soon which will make this a major sudden stratospheric warming event.
"However once again remember this doesn’t mean we will see a beast from the East. It does increase risk of cooler weather in 2 weeks."
The latest weather forecasts show that a Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) event is now ‘likely’ to take place at the end of February or the start of March.
However, forecasters have cautioned that its exact impacts are very uncertain this far out.
An SSW event can lead to cold, dry weather coming into the north of Europe and across Ireland, however, forecasters have cautioned that this is not always the case.
In 2018, it was the occurrence of an SSW event that drove the Arctic deluge that left Ireland covered in heavy snow - however the following year, there was another SSW event that had little impact on Ireland’s weather.
Meanwhile there is still no sign of a brutal Arctic freeze, similar to the ‘Beast from the East’, in Met Eireann's latest forecast.
Double digit temperatures are forecast for the remainder of the week; with some stormy, wet and windy weather possible tonight and Friday.
It will also be a wet start to the day on Saturday, which will clear into a mostly dry and cloudy day. However, high pressure is expected to build on Sunday which will bring dry weather and sunny spells.
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