When is the snow expected to hit Northern Ireland?
Chilly few days in store ❄️☃️
Last updated 28th Feb 2018
Freezing weather sweeping in from Russia - known as "The Beast from the East" has arrived.
Dozens of flights and train services have been cancelled and hundreds of schools have closed as parts of England, Scotland and Wales have been blanketed with heavy snow.
So far, Northern Ireland has escaped the worst of the weather, but it is still VERY COLD with daytime temperatures struggling to get above freezing.
SO WHAT'S IN STORE FOR THE REST OF THIS WEEK?
According to the Met Office, snow is still coming.
A yellow "be aware" warning is in place for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday
Here's the latest Met Office forecast for Northern Ireland;
This Evening and Tonight
Showers will become occasionally heavy and will be most frequent in eastern counties. There will be a drier break for a time late-evening but snow showers will soon return. Feeling very cold.
Minimum temperature -7 °C.
Tomorrow
Another day with occasional snow showers, these more frequent across northern and eastern areas with likely disruption in places. Windy with some snow drifting in places.
Maximum temperature 0 °C.
Outlook for Friday to Saturday
Becoming drier through Friday and Saturday with only a few showers in east but snow showers will most probably return on Sunday. Occasionally windy. Feeling very cold.
HOW MUCH SNOW COULD FALL THIS WEEK?
Forecasters are still predicting accumulations of 2-15cm over the coming days, with eastern areas expected to see the greatest falls.
The Met Office are keeping a close eye on the remnants of Storm Emma off the Portuguese coast which could bring disruptive snow to Northern Ireland by Friday morning.
Worth keeping an eye on - we are not out of the woods just yet.
WHAT'S CAUSED THE BEAST FROM THE EAST?
The prolonged spell of cold weather has been blamed on a rare North Pole phenomenon called "sudden stratospheric warming".
The event disrupted the polar vortex in the upper atmosphere, resulting in bitterly cold air sweeping in from Siberia.
