by BLOOMBERG

The cold weather that’s hit Europe this February will linger as high pressure over Scandinavia brings chilly air from Russia into central and western Europe.​

Five out of seven meteorologists surveyed by Bloomberg News say February will be colder than normal with average temperatures dropping as much as 3 degrees Celsius below the norm in western Europe, according to Marex Spectron Group Ltd.

After one of the warmest starts to the year since 1981, the winter will get back on track with February predicted to be the coolest for three years. While the cold snap may cause people to turn up their heating, gas prices haven’t really reacted, a sign that traders aren’t that concerned about supplies.

Seasonal stocks of natural gas are higher than in 2017. Benchmark U.K. gas prices have dropped 14 percent this year, even after the the nation received just one tanker of liquefied natural gas last month, the least since January 2014.

The cold should be “enough to drive prices, but this far into the season the market is less sensitive especially after a significantly mild January,” said Giacomo Masato, a meteorologist at Marex Spectron in London.

“Bursts of mild, wet, windy conditions will sweep east over northern Europe briefly punctuated by short colder interludes,” said Matthew Dobson, an energy meteorologist at Meteogroup U.K. Ltd. Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the Alps in particular can expect cold interludes, he said. –by BLOOMBERG