The Met Office has issued warnings for snow covering Wales, the Midlands, Yorkshire, the North East, North West and the east of England, for Thursday and Friday.
Forecasters warned that cold air from the north will drop temperatures for many this week, with an increased chance of wintry hazards and a warning for snow issued.
Temperatures will drop to below average for the time of year, with an ongoing chance through the week of ice overnight, which could result in further warnings.
From Thursday, there’s an increased chance of snow in some parts of the UK, with a yellow warning issued which covers much of Wales as well as northern and central England.
A yellow weather warning means there is a small chance of power cuts, travel delays and rural communities being cut off by the snow.
However, this week’s snow is expected to be only the beginning of the deluge, with more sweeping across the entire country from the weekend onwards.
Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist Chris Almond said: “While the early part of this week will see some rain, at times heavy, gradually sinking southwards, there’s an increased signal for wintry hazards as we move through the week as cold air from the north moves over the UK.
“It’s from Thursday that the snow risk becomes more potentially impactful, as mild air attempts to move back in from the south, bumping into the cold air and increasing the chance of snow developing on the leading edge. While there are still lots of details to work out, the initial snow risk looks highest in northern England and Wales from Thursday. 1-2cm is possible to low levels, with 10-20cm possible over the highest ground within the warning area. This snow will likely gradually transition to sleet and rain later on from the south.”
With a developing weather situation, it’s likely warnings will be issued and amended through the week, with an ongoing chance of ice warnings for some. Temperatures could drop as low as –10°C in rural parts of Scotland on Wednesday night, though it will be less cold further south.
Weekend weather
Although there’s still some uncertainty on the positioning of weather fronts from Thursday and the exact position of any snow, the trend further ahead is for the colder conditions with more-scattered wintry showers to spread south, reaching most parts of the UK over the weekend, though there will be plenty of sunshine between times – but this will lead to some frost by night.
