As shown in Fig. 1 & 2, the center of cold are the North-Sea and the Baltic Sea. For Europe they functioning like a storage-heater. During summer they take heat in, during winter they release heat. The latter is particular important to keep the west-drift working. This means, moisture warm air moves from the Atlantic east-wards toward the Ural Mountains, until it is stopped by continental cold and dry air.
Recently we discussed here: “Europe winter free – Thanks to off-shore windfarms?”; showing that when reginal seas are cooled to ‘unusual levels’, Siberian icy cold air can easily travel to the Atlantic shore. Something similar just occurs right now outside. Don’t believe that this spring is bound to being cold by natural cuase. If you do not see at least an attempt to consider a serious human contribution reject it as too superficial and incomplete.
The weaker the maritime air is, the easier she not only gets ‘pulverized’ by the cold and dry air, but opens the path for the ‘Beast from the East’ to travel to the Atlantic shore. Until now science has never cared. Many posts and research remained unnoticed, for example a recent essay: HERE-2016. Highly active is the news press, but offer nothing in explanation. Here some excerpts: __ Meteorologist Alex Burkill told the Evening Standard that the cold snap was likely to mirror freezing winter weather seen in March 2013 – the second coldest March recorded in more than 100 years.
Dominik Jung warns against such complacency and dismissive attitudes: The icy cold, also called the Russian Whip, is really going to hit starting on Sunday. Foremost nights are going to be especially cold. Low temperatures are expected to fall under double-digits below zero. Over snow covered ground minus 20 or minus 25°C are possible. Even lower temperatures are possible directly at ground level.”
_Jesper Starn and Rachel Morison at Bloomberg: Cold air flows from Siberia will send temperatures 10 degrees Celsius (18 Fahrenheit) below normal next week, when Germany, France and parts of Britain are expected to get the coldest temperatures this winter, weather forecasters said….. The freezing conditions will last through the first 10 days of March for Britain, the Netherlands, Germany and Scandinavia and could bring heavy snowfall, Dobson said.