Sunderland weather: Will Wearside see more snow before the end of winter including a 'beast from the east'?

The higher temperatures the North East has seen this week could suggest winter is slowly coming to an end, but colder weather may return soon according to the Met Office long-term forecast.

January saw snow showers as well as some snow settling across the region to kick off the year, but could we see more of the same?

What is the weather forecast for the North East this weekend?

Much like the majority of this week, the weekend is expected to stay dry but cloudy with highs of 10°C and overnight lows of 1°C.

Does the Met Office think the North East will see more snow this winter?

The Met Office’s long-term weather forecast currently runs to Thursday, March 2. February is expected to continue as it started with minimal rain in the North East and conditions to be too warm for any wintry conditions in the opening week of the month.

Some snow and further wintry conditions are predicted in some northern areas of the country, although they are more likely to impact western regions of the UK according to the Met Office. The weather service is predicting patchy snow across central areas of the country over the second full week of the month with wintry conditions starting in the north west and moving south east. These are likely to be paired with “strong to gale force winds” which could impact Tyne and Wear.

Later in the month further wintry conditions are expected in the UK, but these will also be restricted to north western areas. Cold spells are still expected although they will be shorter than other cold spells we have experienced this year.

Why is the Met Office long-term weather forecast so vague?

Despite these predictions, the Met Office says that longer-range forecasts are not wholly accurate and as the day gets closer the more accurately the weather service believes it can predict what the weather will be like on any given date.

It is only within five days that the Met Office truly believes it is able to give an accurate representation of a weather forecast at the local level. Hour by hour predictions are available through the Met Office two days in advance while updates every three hours throughout a day are available between three and seven days in advance.