People in UK given another opportunity to talk about weather as second blast of frigid air arrives

                                                       London/Edinburgh — Europe faces a second blast of cold air that will linger deep into March just as it gets over a deadly front from Siberia that’s causing chaos from Britain to Italy.

Energy prices surged in advance of the second wave of cold air that’s set to keep temperatures in northern Europe abnormally low until the middle of March. UK gas prices have already doubled to the highest in more than a decade in this week’s big freeze, which dropped heavy snow, halted traffic and disrupted flights across the region.

An "Arctic intrusion" into Europe will prevent warmer air moving north at least until the middle of March, said Jason Nicholls, senior meteorologist at Accuweather. All six forecasters surveyed by Bloomberg News say that the first half of March will be colder than normal. The chill will be felt in particular for the UK, Scandinavia and the Baltic region.

Snow storms from Siberia blasted Britain and Ireland on Thursday with the worst weather since 1991, trapping hundreds of motorists on roads overnight in Scotland, and closing schools and airports.

With up to 32cm of snow and temperatures as low as -10.3°C in some areas, weather services in both Britain and Ireland issued their most severe red warnings, which advise people to stay at home as travel is too dangerous.

"We have seen a lot of snow overnight, blizzards and drifting," said Clare Nasir, a meteorologist at Britain’s weather services, known as the Met Office. "Communities have been cut off and roads have been blocked." The cold spell, dubbed the "the beast from the east", has been caused by a jump in temperatures high over the Arctic, which has weakened the jet stream that brings warm air in from the Atlantic to Ireland and Britain.

While the conditions in the next few weeks would be less severe than the icy weather already past, temperatures are expected to drop as much as 3°C below normal, according to Accuweather. Two forecasters predict the cold weather will last until April.

Gas and power prices "will be susceptible to large volatility in conjunction with future cold spells over northern Europe and parts of central Europe," said Giacomo Masato, a meteorologist at Marex Spectron in London. "While demand becomes less important into spring, we should not forget we are coming from a cold February."

The freezing weather reached from Moscow to southern Europe and is already testing energy networks and infrastructure. February was one of the coolest for 10 years, prompting traders to withdraw gas from European storage facilities at the fastest rate in at least a decade. Should the chill linger, stockpiling for next winter may be delayed.

With less gas storage than previous years, Britain’s energy supply is susceptible to prolonged cold snaps, said Oliver Burdett, commercial director at Enappsys, an energy trading consultant in Stockton-on-Tees, England. Price rises are starting from a high base after the increases caused by the cold front from Siberia, he said.

Temperatures in the north of the region could be "dangerously low," falling as much as 10°C below normal at the start of March, said Joe D’Aleo, chief meteorologist at WeatherBell Analytics. He sees more "disruptive" snow in the UK before the weather warms.

Britain’s two busiest airports, Heathrow and Gatwick, both warned that flights would be cancelled on Thursday. Flights and trains were cancelled across both Britain and Ireland.

Britain’s Met Office warned that freezing rain was likely across southern England as Storm Emma pushed northwards from Portugal and France.