The Met Office has warned that a Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) is now highly likely to occur which is likely to affect UK weather at the end of the month.
The weather forecasting organisation has issued a detailed explanation of the impact that such warming trends high up in the atmosphere can have on weather in the UK but said it is not as simple as meaning that we will be hit by heavy snowfall and cold weather.
A Sudden Stratospheric Warning describes an event when rapid warming occurs high up in the stratosphere - the second layer of the atmosphere immediately above the troposphere, which is closest to Earth. It refers to an area between 10km to 50km above the earth's surface and its effects are not usually felt until several weeks later.
