Jersey Met forecasts possibility of a ‘White Easter’

Wednesday 02 March 2016

It might be the start of Spring but freezing temperatures look like they are on the way and Jersey Met aren’t ruling out a ‘White Easter’ here.

A phenomenon called 'sudden stratospheric warming' is forecast for March and is set to push colder Arctic weather towards Britain.

They usually happen every couple of years when the polar vortex of westerly winds in the winter hemisphere slows down or changes direction and the UK is bracing itself for some cold north easterlies and wintry weather over the next few weeks.

We might normally be one of the warmest parts of the British Isles but experts say we could see temperatures plunge here too.

Jersey Met’s Principal Meteorological Officer John Searson said: “My thoughts for Jersey - while over a large area such as the British Isles it may be reasonable to suggest there is a significant increase in the likelihood of snow for Easter, for Jersey we are further south and the likelihood is much smaller but still possible.”

Three years ago this month the Island saw the worst snow storms for decades that closed schools for days, caused chaos on the roads and disrupted travel to and from the Island.

Jersey Met say the colder weather means we're unlikely to see as much rain as we have over the last few months when we had a record-breaking wetter start to the year.

Mr Searson said: “We have a wet day today and over the next couple of days colder air feeds down to the Channel Islands. 

"Normally with colder weather at this time of year we will get less rain, so I would suggest that rainfall is unlikely to be significantly above normal, if not lower.”