Snow set to hit Britain as temperatures plunge, forecasters warn

The UK is set to see snow fall this weekend as temperatures plunge, as one weather expert has predicted that Britain will experience its whitest winter in 27 years.

Snow is expected to reach northern Scotland later this weekend, with temperatures expected to dip below 0C, the Met Office told The Independent.

“Starting Sunday evening, when the rain starts to push in, snow will be falling above a few hundred metres,” said forecaster Helen Roberts.

Sunday is expected to see a chilly start to the day, as clouds and patchy rain spread north-eastwards turning to snow over the hills of Scotland later on in the morning.

But, Ms Roberts warned: “The main risk is going to be into Monday, when we see a band of rain pushing in from the west and bumping up against cold air already in situ. That will be north of the Central Belt.”

“What that means for Monday morning’s commute is that there could be a bit of disruption.”

Further into the week, the weather is expected to bring milder conditions, with outbreaks of rain spreading across the northeast early in the week.

The Met Office said residents of central and southern parts of the UK can expect wet and windy conditions.

“Into next week, it does turn quite changeable, with a good deal of cloud around, outbreaks of rain at times, but generally speaking, it should be a little less cold,” Ms Roberts said.

“Snow will become less of an issue, but there will be rain and cold temperatures.”

The forecaster also suggested bundling up Thursday morning, with that day looking to be “a particularly wet and windy one”.

Retired Metropolitan Police constable and amateur climatologist David King told the Evening Standard he believes the UK will see more snow this season than it has in almost three decades.

“In the next couple of months there will be some snow in northern parts of the UK, but certainly below Birmingham and Norwich there will be no snow, or no snow of any consequence, through until after Christmas,” he said.

“The start of the New Year will be a different ball game. It is going to be very cold, there will be a lot of snow and there will be travel problems. In the south it will get down to -5C.”

Mr King uses traditional methods, including thousand-year-old moon charts and the study of plants and animal behaviour, to forecast the weather.

Insistinh his predictions are nearly always accurate, he said: “Last September, I said it would be the earliest and warmest spring for years, the summer warm and damp and the autumn storm, damp and very mild. So far so good.”

The Met Office is expecting mixed weather conditions to settle down in coming weeks, with a period of drier, brighter and colder conditions possible by the start of December.

Little snow is forecast, with only some snowfall expected in northern parts of the country.