IT may be the start of meteorological spring – but there is no end in sight to the cold winter weather.
Following several chilly days, temperatures are expected to remain slightly below average until at least the end of the weekend.
And Jersey Met is forecasting the risk of wintry showers on Sunday, when temperatures are likely to rise no higher than 6°C.
Although there is uncertainty over the longer-range forecast, the UK Met Office says there is a risk that the cold conditions could continue for much of the month.
The beginning of March, which marks the three-month period that meteorologists define as spring, often brings the first of the year’s milder days.
But temperatures are set to rise no higher than 7°C or 8°C until at least Sunday, with mainly cloudy conditions expected at the weekend.
The UK Met Office, which issues 30-day forecasts on its website, says that although confidence in the forecast is low, there is an ‘increasing chance of it turning more unsettled, possibly bringing snow at times’ in the UK for the period of 4 to 13 March.
For the period of 14 to 28 March, it states: ‘Confidence becomes very low for this period.
‘However, the preferred scenario is that blocking high pressure will remain mostly dominant, increasing the probability of colder conditions compared to average.
‘Spells of rain are more likely than of late, especially at first, with a chance of snow in some areas. Some wintry episodes may be disruptive due to the potential combination of snow and strong winds.’
Bryan de Gruchy, duty forecaster at Jersey Met, said there was still uncertainty over how far south the cold weather would extend over the British Isles.
View the weather forecast and tide times here
