SPRING officially begins in less than six weeks when the equinox occurs on March 20.

With major late-season snowfalls hitting parts of Europe, many harbouring dreams of warmer weather may be eagerly awaiting AccuWeather's annual Europe spring forecast.

AccuWeather's spring forecast is now available.

Forecasters are calling for warm weather to make a quick return to parts of Europe during the months of March, April and May, but others deep in winter's cold will have to wait a bit longer for the harsher conditions to ease.

AccuWeather's team of long-range meteorologists warn that the start of the 2021 spring season may have some similarities to the spring of 2018, the season that brought the Beast from the East to parts of northern Europe.

The long-range team has been busy analysing the many patterns that will influence the weather during the upcoming season.

A complete region-by-region breakdown is available, with AccuWeather meteorologists explaining how the forecast may impact nearly every facet of life, including farming and water resources, over the coming months.

Northwestern and central Europe

After one of the snowiest winter seasons in at least the last five years in northwestern and central parts of Europe, including the first “proper snowstorm” for the Netherlands in more than a decade, many Europeans may be looking forward to spring and a return to warm and sunny weather.

“Spring will be delayed, but it won’t be denied,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tyler Roys said.

A winterlike chill is forecast to linger into March over areas from Ireland and the United Kingdom to southern Scandinavia, Germany and into western Poland.

In addition to the late-season cold, an unsettled pattern will continue to send storms charging through western Europe. This combination can allow for snow to fall in the hills of Scotland and as far south as England and into the higher elevations of France and Germany through March.

Cold and even wet and snowy conditions through much of spring can delay the planting of crops across France and Germany. And winter wheat, which typically comes out of dormancy across much of the continent around April, may be slow to do so amid the lingering cold.

However, that may actually prove to be beneficial in the predicted weather patterns.

“If dormancy ends later, this could protect the plants from any robust cold shots even in areas where there is a lack of snow cover to protect the winter grains,” AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Jason Nicholls said.

Even though rainfall in early spring could delay the planting of new crops, including corn in southwestern France, continued wet weather could be welcome once the crops are planted and could help to kick off the growing season, Roys noted.

By the latter part of April and May, temperatures will begin to climb across Ireland and the British Isles as the storm track continues to lift north.

Spring weather may hearken back to Beast from the East impacts

The infamous weather system known as the Beast from the East made headlines in late February and early March of 2018 for bitterly cold conditions it helped to unleash across parts of the U.K. along with snow threats for parts of England and Germany. Serious crashes were reported in England as winter weather struck.

The setup was dictated by a large area of high pressure that sent frigid easterly winds -- originating from Siberia -- into the region. Temperatures plummeted to dangerous levels, proving deadly and setting new records for spring in the U.K., according to reports at the time. Tredegar, Wales, recorded its coldest March high temperature at 23.5 F (-4.7 C), as did Glasgow with a March high of 32 F (zero C).

The weather pattern won't become as severe as the one caused by the Beast from the East this spring, but cold weather and rounds of rain and snow will impact some of the same regions.

"A year that had a similar setup to what is expected in Europe this spring is 2018, which brought the Beast from the East to northwestern Europe," Roys explained.

"This does not necessarily mean another Beast from the East will occur, but this similar pattern hints at shots of chilly air."

The anticipated snow threats for parts of Germany could also be similar to the 2018 season. For Ireland and the UK, temperatures will be suppressed below normal during the first part of springtime.

For the full report visit AccuWeather.com