London braces itself for possible snow as major cold snap follows Tube strike

Week of travel chaos ahead as Met Office forecasts 'wintry showers'

A dog walker in Bushy Park, south west London after overnight temperature drop below freezing across the capital (PA)

Londoners have been warned they face sleet and snow as temperatures are set to plummet in the second half of the week.

The Met Office announced milder temperatures at the start of the week will give way to bitter cold as “wintry showers” spread across the UK and through the English Channel.

A spokesman for the weather service told the London Evening Standard: “There is a risk of some snow and sleety weather on Thursday and possibly also Friday – mainly in the form of showers.

“It is difficult to gauge how much snow but it looks like a slight covering and it will feel very very cold.

“Temperatures will stay around four or five degrees but a wind chill will make it feel colder.”

As we head into the weekend the chances of snow will recede, giving way to “clear blue skies” on Friday but an Arctic cold wind will mean commuters still need to wrap up warm.

This will be a further blow to the capital’s commuters who are already facing major disruption following a 24-hour strike by members of the RMT union of jobs cuts on the Tube.

The “majority” of Zone 1 stations are expected to be closed with the unaffected lines, such as Tfl rail, Overground and DLR, likely to be far busier than normal as people try to find alternative routes to work.

The cold snap in London mirrors much of Europe as the icy winds bring snow as far south as Turkey and Greece.

In Poland, the mercury has dropped to below -20C and it has got so cold a layer of ice has formed over the Adriatic Sea between Italy and the Balkans.

On Saturday eight deaths in Italy and two in Poland were blamed on the cold. The Polish death toll has now reached 55 since the beginning of November.