‘Beast from the East’ returns for the THIRD time as forecasters warn of a ‘White Easter’

More snow is expected to fall over the bank holiday weekend as forecasters predict a ‘White Easter’, even after the clocks have gone forward for British Summer Time (BST).

The clocks go forward at the weekend but it is highly unlikely that the weather conditions will match the change.

The sudden change in weather hits after an alarming heatwave in the Arctic causes blizzards and snow in Europe, which is forcing scientists to reconsider their forecasts of climate change.

This is linked to a weather event known as a polar vortex, which happened above the North Pole in February. Forecasters have said that the dramatic rise in air temperature leads to a change in weather, allowing cold winds from Eastern Europe to hit the UK.

A polar vortex is a mass of cold air above the North and South Poles.

The cold air is controlled by pockets of low pressure, which rotates in an anti-clockwise direction in the North Pole and clockwise in the South Pole. When a polar vortex is weak, it can split into two, forcing air temperatures to decrease.

BBC weather presenter and meteorologist Simon King joked about the weather on his twitter account, “Who likes trilogies? When you get a sudden stratospheric warming event like we saw in Jan, it often means you can get more than one/two/three bouts of colder weather. #BeastFromTheEast to be continued...?”.

Joshua Mouzouris, 19, History student at Brunel University said: “I don’t think I have ever seen weather as bad as it has been this year, it is supposed to be spring but it looks like its winter still! Campus definitely needs to be gritted more as I keep slipping over! I just hope the weather does not get too bad otherwise I will have struggle getting back home for the Easter weekend”.