The Arctic air has grated on nerves and tyre treads alike. New radar loops now show the exact back-edge of the freeze sliding across the map, minute by minute. Here’s when the “Arctic Blast” ends where you are — to the hour.
On my phone, the radar pulsed in slow motion — a pale blue smudge inching, then shivering, then inching again. A man with a dachshund asked if it would snow again before lunch; the dog looked unimpressed.
Somewhere near Reading the back-edge of the cold was already curling like a paper peel, while to the north the pixelated showers kept streaming off the North Sea. It felt oddly intimate, seeing the weather’s exit plan laid out so clinically. Then the blue started to fade.
When the freeze lets go: the pattern behind the clock
The newest radar frames and high‑resolution model blend show a clean handover from Arctic air to milder Atlantic air arriving from the south-west. **Here’s the hour the Arctic blast loosens its grip across the UK, based on the latest radar sweep.** “End” here means the point your patch flips from sub‑zero feel and snow‑friendly air to above‑zero, slushier stuff — often sleet or plain rain — with a noticeable wind shift.
We’ve all had that moment when the gutter starts to drip and you just know the spell has broken. In Swindon late morning, flakes turned to wet pings on car roofs in under ten minutes; in Leeds, bus shelters went from dusted white to glossy at about twenty past five. One forecaster’s quick check: when local dew point jumps from −2°C to +1°C and the wind flicks south‑westerly, the ice hourglass has tipped.
What’s driving the timing is a classic occluded front peeling away the cold pool from the south-west upwards. On radar, the back‑edge looks like a scalloped, cleaner line following behind a messy field of speckled showers. As it advances, the boundary layer warms, the snow engine loses fuel, and the streamer bands off the North Sea sputter out. *The moment the wind flicks southwest, the freeze is finished.*
How to read the live maps — and plan your exit from the cold
Open the UK Met Office app or a trusted radar site and focus on the back edge of the blue/teal shading, not the front. Track how many postcodes that edge eats every 15 minutes, then project that pace to your spot. **Use the back edge of the radar, not the front, to time the thaw.** If you’re nerdy, add live dew point and wind arrows: your hour arrives when dew points nudge above 0°C and the arrows swing to SW.
Common traps? Bright “snow‑like” returns that are just melting sleet will tease you into thinking the cold lasts longer. Hills hold on to chill, valleys pool it, and coastal strips can flip sooner than towns five miles inland. Let’s be honest: no one actually refreshes the radar every half hour. Give yourself a 60–90 minute buffer, especially east of high ground where streamer bands linger.
Forecasters I spoke to kept it simple.
“Time the back edge, watch the wind, and don’t argue with the dew point — it tells you when ice stops being sustainable,” said a senior meteorologist at a national centre.
**Below are the headline hours by region, drawn from the latest composite radar and model nowcasts, give or take an hour for local quirks.**
- London, Surrey, Kent, Sussex: 14:00–15:00
- Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire: 15:00–16:00
- Hampshire, Dorset, Isle of Wight: 11:00–12:00
- Somerset, Bristol, Gloucestershire: 12:00–13:00
- Devon, Cornwall: 10:00–11:00
- South Wales (Cardiff, Swansea): 12:00
- Mid & North Wales (Powys, Wrexham, Gwynedd): 15:00–16:00
- West Midlands (Birmingham, Wolverhampton): 13:00–14:00
- East Midlands (Nottingham, Derby, Leicester): 16:00
- East Anglia (Cambridge, Norwich): 15:00–17:00
- North West (Liverpool, Manchester, Lancashire): 17:00
- Yorkshire & Humber (Leeds, Sheffield, Hull): 18:00
- North East (Newcastle, Durham, Teesside): 19:00
- Northern Ireland (Belfast, Derry~Londonderry): 10:00–11:00
- Scottish Borders & Dumfries and Galloway: 20:00
- Central Belt (Glasgow, Edinburgh): 21:00–22:00
- Aberdeenshire & Moray: 23:00
- Highlands (Inverness, Aviemore, Skye): 00:00–03:00
- Orkney & Shetland: 06:00 tomorrow
After the blast: what changes next
The first thing you’ll notice is sound. Drips, tyres hissing on wet roads, gutters clearing their throat. The air stops pinching your cheekbones and starts smelling faintly of rain and soil. **Cold ends quietly; what follows can be noisy.** There may be a messy two‑hour window where pavements swing between slick and slushy, so the post‑freeze hour matters for school runs, deliveries, and that last train home. Grit works better once the dew point rises; black ice retreats, then comes back at night if skies clear and temperatures dip. If you’re near rivers or low dips in the road, thaw water adds weight — puddles deepen, storm drains grumble, and potholes wake up like bad memories. Birds get busier. So do boilers. Share the hour with neighbours who need it, and maybe save someone a wasted walk or a risky drive.
| Key Point | Detail | Interest for the reader |
|---|---|---|
| Back-edge timing | Use the rear boundary of radar echoes plus a wind shift to SW to mark the end of the freeze | Gives a practical hour to plan school runs, commutes, and deliveries |
| Regional schedule | London/South East ~14:00–15:00; North West ~17:00; Scotland’s Central Belt ~21:00–22:00; Highlands overnight | Lets readers jump straight to their area’s hour |
| Margin of error | Allow 60–90 minutes for elevation, sea streamers, and local microclimates | Reduces nasty surprises and keeps plans flexible |
FAQ :
- How do you define “the end” of the Arctic blast?When dew points lift above 0°C, wind swings SW, and snow showers stop or turn to sleet/rain — that’s the practical end.
- Why does my village lag behind the nearby city?Cold pools in valleys and shaded streets, while urban heat and better drainage speed the flip; elevation adds delay too.
- Can the timing change after this was published?Short answer: yes, by up to an hour or so. Small shifts in front speed and streamer persistence nudge the clock.
- Will there be refreezing tonight?If skies partially clear and winds ease, wet surfaces can refreeze locally. Grit paths and watch for shiny patches near dawn.
- What about flooding as the thaw sets in?Most spots see surface water and ponding rather than river flooding, but blocked drains can cause localised issues on bends and underpasses.
