Forecasters are warning that we are experiencing a ‘Fool’s spring’. Cheltenham saw snow on Wednesday morning, just three days after the region saw sunny weather and temperatures as high as 18C on Sunday. Parts of the UK were hotter than Barcelona and the Costa Del Sol over the weekend.
But now concerns have been raised about disruption to the Cheltenham Festival, after snow coated the town’s racecourse overnight, while a yellow weather warning for ice has also been issued for parts of northern England on Thursday.
Temperatures in the area are expected to drop to below freezing by the weekend for the end of what is often called “fool’s spring”. A fool’s spring refers to a period of warm weather quickly followed by a cold snap, which often occurs in March or April.
A yellow warning has been issued covering parts of Yorkshire and Northumberland between 3am and 9am on Thursday, with forecasters expecting wintry showers causing ice to develop. It could cause disruption to transport due to ice on roads and cycle paths.
Oli Claydon, a spokesman for the Met Office, said: “Some showers came through with lower overnight temperatures last night, meaning it comes through as snow. We’re expecting to see the same sort of regime over the next few days with showers continuing in the North East and Scotland.
“There’s also a front that moves through on Friday that could bring snow over widespread areas of Scotland, and we might see some wintry showers over the highest parts of Ireland.”
Clerk of the Cheltenham course Jon Pullin told ITV Racing on Wednesday: “It was very precautionary last night, as we were forecast a slight frost. It did dip down briefly to a minus two temperature, so we took some precautions on the take-offs and landings, just to make sure we’d be comfortable this morning.”
Temperatures are expected to rise to 7C by the time racing begins at 1.20pm, but overnight chills are expected to continue for the remainder of the festival.
Mr Pullin added: “Thursday to Friday is looking quite cold again now, so we’ll see where we go, but it should be dry from here on in.”
Birmingham city centre also saw snow this morning, and the Met Office forecasts suggest areas of Cumbria and Yorkshire may also see light snow and hail before midday.
The forecaster expects the rest of the week to be chilly with some overnight frost and icy patches tonight. Mr Claydon said there should be a mostly “fine and dry picture” across the UK over the weekend.