A mid-winter warm spell which has seen daffodils blooming and insects hatching in the West Midlands will end today with a cold and possibly even snowy snap, weather experts have predicted.
Forecasters said the region's unusually high January temperatures of 10 to 13C (50 to 55.4F) would drop to 5C (41F) today and yo-yo for the rest of the month.
They added that a blanket of slushy snow could even cover the West Midlands today or tomorrow, but that by Thursday temperatures would climb back to 12C (53.6F) only to fall again to 6C (42.8F) by the weekend.
Michael Dukes, a climatologist at the PA WeatherCentre, said: "The first half of January has been exceptionally mild.
"At times it has been 3C (7.4F) above average for this time of year. We have also had no frost at all, which is most unusual."
The warm spell comes from a mild Atlantic wind and air coming from Greenland and the Azores.
Mr Dukes said: " Blooming daffodils and creepy crawlies have been spotted in the West Midlands two months earlier than usual.
"This would have been very, very unusual a decade ago, but nowadays it is less so because of global warming."
He warned West Midlanders to dress warmly and expect alternate bursts of warm and cold weather over the coming days.
The Met Office expects high winds of 50 to 60mph to sweep across the region, possibly combined with sleet and snow showers.
It said gritters would treat motorways and other main routes before the cold weather set in.
The Highways Agency has warned motorcyclists and drivers, especially of high-sided vehicles and HGVs, to take extra care on the roads, to check forecasts, and to consider delaying their journeys.
Weather in the Midlands has been similar to other parts of the country. Rainfall has been highest in the North-west and lowest in the South-east.
