A cold snap has well and truly arrived across the UK, and apparently, there’s even a “possibility of snow” before the week’s out too.
With December just a few days away now, it really is beginning to look a lot like Christmas, as far as the weather is concerned, as the temperatures have plummeted over the last few days, and these cold conditions are only set to continue as the week goes on.
In case you hadn’t heard, the UKHSA has already issued a yellow cold-health alert for the health sector covering northern regions of England – including Greater Manchester.
This alert is now in place, and remains throughout the whole week.
But do we have a ‘white December’ (if that’s even a ‘thing’) in store? And what are the chances of snow actually falling across our region this week? The Met Office has now given an update on what we can expect.
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Conditions across the UK are forecast to turn colder with the prospect of snow for later in the week.
According to the Met Office, we’ll all probably need to wrap up warm for the foreseeable, as colder air is feeding in from the north across many parts of the UK over the next few days, and this is bringing with it the potential for wintry showers in some North Sea coastal areas, as well as some inland parts of northern Britain too.
“After some rain on Monday, conditions will turn mainly dry for a time, before a very uncertain period on Thursday and Friday,” explained David Oliver, who is the Met Office’s Deputy Chief Meteorologist.
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He then added: “The weather models are highlighting several possible solutions, from very wet to mainly dry, with a mainly dry picture the most probable outcome at present.”
How likely is snow this week?
The wintery conditions may also bring “some snow and ice impacts” along with them, and then towards the end of the week and over the weekend, there’s “a possibility of snow” too, according to the Met Office – but weather forecasters say this is “far from certain”.
Going on to give an insight on the probability of snow, Mr Oliver then said: “Snow in any affected area is unlikely to be anything more than transient and short-lived,
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“But it could lead to small totals and some disruption over a few hours before melting.”
Met Office gives update on ‘possibility of snow’ as cold snap hits UK this weeks / Credit: Geograph | Pexels
Is snow in early December common?
It’s probably not that hard to believe, but snowfall in late autumn or early winter is becoming increasingly less common nowadays, and according to the Met Office, it “doesn’t generally linger” when it does occur too.
Meteorologists say this is because ground temperatures remain relatively high after the warmer summer months, especially compared with values in late winter after the ground loses more of its warmth.
The Sopranos stars finally visit much-loved Manchester sandwich inspired by the show
Danny Jones
In what feels like an inevitable story in the making for a long time now, members of The Sopranos cast have finally visited the popular Manchester sandwich spot inspired by the show, Bada Bing.
We know were biased, but we believe there’s an argument to be made that the beloved Manc butty shop has perhaps an even more fervent cult following than die-hard viewers of the hit American TV drama.
In case you somehow still don’t know the connection, Bada Bing is named after the strip club where several of the main characters work and spend a lot of their time.
Having returned to Manchester city centre back in 2024 after a successful first stint, they’ve been busier than ever, and that famous local name seems to have spread further than ever, including all the way over to the States, where actors from the original show caught wind and have now made the pilgrimage.
You might wonder why they didn’t name it after the butchers and deli, Satriale’s, or maybe even Artie Bucco’s oft-featured restaurant, Vesuvio. Both seem pretty ideal, right?
But let’s be honest, Bada Bing just has a better ring to it; there’s no denying that.
Either way, when series stars Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa came over to Manchester last week for a live edition of their podcast (which has just wrapped a limited UK tour) at the O2 Apollo.
But whilst they were here, they also made sure to visit a lunchtime joint that we’re sure Tony, Paulie, Christoper, Silvio and all of The Sopranos regulars would approve of.
While they didn’t quite perch out on the stoop with an espresso and a cigar, they did pose with co-owner Sam Gormally for a quick photo op outside the door.
Oh, and we don’t even need to confirm whether or not they liked the heroes – we just know they did.
‘Chris’ Moltisanti himself, Imperioli, also hopped on social media to share another key moment from his visit to the region:
Writing on their TikTok post, the Babd Bing boys dubbed it a “full circle moment” and reiterated that they still “can’t believe this just happened.
To be honest, we’ve barely got over it ourselves, and we’re just very big fans of the place.
We simply cannot imagine how surreal that day must have been for the whole team and everyone involved, and we hope we get a fun new special toasting the pair’s appearance sometime soon.
Featured Images — Bada Bing/Michael Imperioli (via Instagram)
Trending
Grammy-winning hardcore band Turnstile perform ‘exceptional’ cover of a Stone Roses classic
Danny Jones
In a cover version we never knew we needed, multiple Grammy award-winning hardcore band Turnstile have taken social media timelines by storm with a cover of a true British rock classic by The Stone Roses.
Described as everything from “pretty damn brilliant” and “exceptional” by CLASH Magazine to “one of the best triplej covers ever”, it’s fair to say they smashed it with this one.
This one was always likely to go down well with us Mancs, but you never know how possessive people are going to be with iconic tunes treasured not just by regions but entire eras like this.
Without further ado, please enjoy Turnstile’s cover of ‘I Wanna Be Adored’ by The Stone Roses:
Lost track of how many times we’ve watched this now.
Truly excellent.
Not only did they manage to capture the ambient atmosphere of that legendary intro, but they managed to tow the thin paint-splattered line between simply trying to imitate the original and making it their own.
There’s something about frontman Brendan Yates’ vocals that suits this particular cover so very well right from the off.
We’re, of course, not saying that he sounds like Ian Brown in any way, but his range and top notes, in particular, seemed to fit almost perfectly.
Pair that with a contemporary rock band helping rejuvenate their particular guitar-driven genre, and those raw, driving D-beat-centric drums, and you’ve got a winning combo.
As you can see, the majority of the internet seems to agree with us…
.@TURNSTILEHC step into the @triplej studio to recover their take on The Stone Roses' debut album opener 'I Wanna Be Adored'.
The bulk of social media didn’t just hail the reimagining as one that did Brown, John Squire, Reni and the late, great Mani justice, but perhaps one of the greatest that the popular Australian radio station, YouTube channel and Spotify playlisters have seen in a long time.
In fact, in Audio North‘s humble opinion, we’d go so far as to say this is the best we’ve heard in the platform since their native Royel Otis’ delightful duo of The Cranberries and Sophie Ellis-Bextor covers.
Safe to say it’s been an incredible year for Turnstile, who mopped up all manner of accolades in 2025 and were even nominated for International Group at the BRITs here in Manchester this past weekend. They might not have won that one, but they get all the plaudits from us for their song selection alone.
What did you make of it? Better still, do you have a favourite triplej ‘Like a Version’? Actually, no – scrap that: is there a better cover of a Manc artist‘s track that you can think of?
Emily Sergeant -
28th November 2023 
