Arctic Air Freezes Europe, But Warmer Weather Is on Its Way

(Bloomberg) — A blast of arctic air is bringing a brief frigid snap to parts of Europe, with Berlin recording its lowest temperatures this winter, but warmer weather is on its way.

The German capital saw a low of -11C on Monday, with the chill set to carry into Tuesday. Authorities have issued orange warnings across the country’s northeast, cautioning that sub-zero temperatures could cause hypothermia, freeze water pipes and bring frost damage to plants.

The dry arctic air, which has brought a blanket of snow and light winds, resulted in the lowest temperatures in a year in other parts of Germany too. The Harz Mountains recorded a low of -18.4C, according to national forecaster Deutscher Wetterdienst.

The same weather pattern is impacting the rest of northwest Europe. London hit -2.2C on Monday and is set to remain chilly on Tuesday, with mean temperatures 3 degrees below the 30-year norm, data from Weather Services International show. 

A low-pressure system is expected to move into the region and start pushing out the worst of the cold spell by Wednesday, according to the UK Met Office. That will help turn the region significantly warmer by the end of the week, Thore Hansen, a meteorologist with the German weather service wrote in a weather briefing note. 

“Instead of double-digit minus temperatures at night, there will be talk of double-digit highs,” he said. 

By Friday, temperatures in London are also set to climb, with highs of 14C expected. Other regions are also forecast to get warm weather this week, though some are already much hotter than normal.

Average temperatures in Spain are well above the long-term norm. Sevilla could see the daily high climb to 21C on Thursday. 

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