BRITAIN is braced for another Beast from the East after forecasters recorded the same phenomenon that triggered one five years ago.
A sudden stratospheric warming — like the one blamed for at least ten deaths when it dumped 20in of snow on the country in March 2018 — has occurred 30km up in the atmosphere.
The event sparks a dramatic shift from milder Atlantic air in the West to colder winds from Russia’s Siberia in the East.
The Met Office is monitoring it closely but says its effect at ground level will be unknown for a nail-biting two weeks.
Professor Adam Scaife, head of long-range predictions, said sudden warming raised the temperature over the North Pole by about 50C in a few days.
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He added: “It’s one of the most dramatic events in the atmosphere and causes the winds to collapse.
"Instead of them going from West to East they reverse and begin moving in the opposite direction.
“That is taking place now and it’s drawing in the colder air from Russia and Siberia.
“It means the month of March is at greater risk of easterly winds and colder weather than it otherwise would be.”
Sudden stratospheric warming has been linked to the record-breaking cold snap of 2010 and the Big Freeze of 1963.
In 2018, the Beast brought the coldest March day on record.
It shut hundreds of schools for days and the Army was drafted in to assist the NHS.
Meanwhile, Storm Otto is expected to arrive today, bringing 80mph winds across Scotland and the North East.
