A RARE triple-vortex polar blast is threatening to thrust the UK into a snowy January as a plume of sub-zero air across Britain will lock the nation into Arctic misery until spring, forecasters have warned.

Near unprecedented changes in the atmosphere above the North Pole will collude to create a perfect storm of brutal weather drivers, experts warn. An unusually strong ‘dome’ of high pressure will send temperatures plunging through the coming nights as swathes of freezing ‘radiation fog’ blanket the country. Government health officials have issued a be ‘ready’ cold weather alert with freezing conditions predicted to grip the UK over the next few days.

A repeat of last year’s crippling Beast from the East threatens to unleash further mayhem across the country later this month, according to some weathermen.

Icy gales expected to sweep the nation through the coming weeks will send temperatures plummeting while milder westerlies are held at bay.

A negative Arctic Oscillation (AO), which describes the movement of air around the North Pole, will help drive the cold spell experts claim.

Extreme cold weather could hold out through January and into February with the additional risk of heavy snow threatening widespread chaos.

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