Giant 70ft wave whipped up by gale-force winds dwarfs lighthouse
Britain's coast has been battered by ferocious seas and gale-force winds this week - and this picture shows the spectacular power of nature as an enormous wave dwarfs a lighthouse in County Durham.
The amazing picture of the 70ft wave crashing into the shore was taken at Seaham Harbour.
And forecasters are predicting there's more harsh weather to come this weekend.
According to the Mirror, forecaster John Lee, of MeteoGroup, said: "Many parts are in for another round of very heavy, wintry showers, especially in the North."
And, the newspaper reports, that could even include an outbreak of 'thundersnow' - a rare weather event that occurs when the sun heats the ground or sea, sending up moist warmer thermals and creating huge unstable columns in the icy air above. When the moisture condenses it forms clouds that rub together to produce thunder and lightning against a backdrop of snow.
The Daily Mail reports that 'thundersnow' has been experienced in the Peak District, the West of Scotland and Northern Ireland this week.
Freezing temperatures are expected heading into the weekend, with lows of -5C or -6C on Thursday night.
The bitter wind from Russia, dubbed the Beast from the East, will make daytime temps feel colder.
Scotland and Ireland are experiencing extremely high sea levels, and coastal areas are set to suffer the worst from Thursday, with waves hitting sea walls in the North East and powerful winds whipping them up.
A Meteogroup forecaster told the Daily Mail: "It will be another breezy day with chilly weather and snow in the North, Scotland and the East of England plus a few hail showers.
"It will be cold and clear tonight with a touch of frost, and then a band of rain will move across the West from Ireland tomorrow, bringing snowy showers to North West Scotland and slushy accumulations in the North East, East Anglia by evening.
"Friday will be mostly clear with some showers in the East, while the weekend will see another band of rain and some snow."
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