TODAY may be the start of the meteorological spring but five years ago Dorset was in the grip of the Beast from the East.

The Met Office had issued an amber warning for ice and snow and there was severe travel disruption with schools across the area closed.

Hundreds of drivers were stuck on the A31 overnight with armed forces called in to help while cars were left abandoned on the Dorset Way.

Bournemouth Echo:

The situation on the trains was no better with commuters having to spend the night on trains.

The northbound carriageway of the Wessex Way from the Cooper Dean Roundabout also had to be closed by police.

Bournemouth Echo:

Next week could see potential for snow across the UK following a Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) which is the same event that caused the Beast from the East in 2018. 

We've spoken to weather enthusiasts in Dorset about what the upcoming cold spell could have in store for BCP and the rest of the county.

In recent years some extreme cold, winter snow events have all been connected to the surface effects of Sudden Stratospheric Warmings, such as those in 2009/10, 2013 and the Beast from the East in 2018.

The Met Office said the term sudden stratospheric warming refers to what is observed in the stratosphere - a rapid warming, up to about 50C in just a couple of days, between 10km and 50km above the earth’s surface.