Scots may have to brace for another bout of snowfall as we move into a "colder than average" March this week.
It comes after the Met Office recorded temperatures of -7.9C in Altnaharra in the Highlands on Sunday. It looks like the chilly conditions aren't quite over with March likely to be "a colder month than a milder month", according to a Met Office forecaster.
Snow maps from WXCharts suggest there could be a 45 to 70 percent chance of snowfall on Tuesday, March 7 in parts of Scotland, reports The Mirror.
Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan told The Mirror : "It does look like the month will begin on the cold side. There is quite a chilly week to come. The first week is likely to see temperatures below average but not exceptionally so.
"But from next weekend onwards, there are some small indications we will see winds switch to a northerly direction and that will bring much colder conditions southwards.
"It is going to be Scotland and the northeastern parts of the UK that are likely to see any snow from that spell.
"But, at this stage, it is quite finely balanced. We could start to see a bit more of milder Atlantic flow develop from the middle part of the month onwards.
"Really it is too early to say, but it does look like at the moment that March has a slightly higher chance of being a colder month than a milder month."
Despite the uncertainty that this March will be the coldest on record, Ladbrokes has taken no chances and slashed the odds on next month going down as the coldest March on record from 4/1 to just 2/1.
Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: "The incoming Beast from the East has forced us to slash odds on next month playing host to the coldest March on record."
The Met Office previously warned of a sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) which happens when polar vortex winds slow down and high-altitude air warms up, pushing polar air towards the UK.
The effects of this phenomenon can take three weeks to impact the UK and can make colder weather more likely. Prof Adam Scaife, Head of Long-Range Forecasting at the Met Office, said that "any effect on UK weather" is most likely to occur in late February and March.
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