UK weather forecast: Snow and frost expected to hit Britain as winter blast arrives

‘Subzero temperatures’ expected

Icy showers, snow and frost will hit the UK this month as a spell of wintry weather bites.

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for parts of Scotland starting on Monday, as “icy stretches” developing overnight are expected to cause disruption for commuters.

Temperatures will further plummet throughout Monday night and into Tuesday morning, with the mercury dropping as low as -4C in rural England and Scotland.

Cities are likely to be a few degrees warmer.

“People will be scraping ice off their cars first thing on Tuesday,” said Sarah Kent, a meteorologist at the Met Office.

Some 10-12 cm of snow are expected to fall on the Pennines on Tuesday, with a few centimetres predicted on high ground elsewhere, including in Snowdonia.

“The snow is on the high ground and hills and is notable,” said Ms Kent.

“People planning to drive across the Pennines will need to be winter ready.”

For England it will be the first snow of winter, though parts of Scotland saw some snowfall last month.

The snowy spell may clear by Wednesday, when the weather is expected to be drier and brighter, with highs of 14C in southern parts of England.

It will be cooler in Scotland, where temperatures will be around 5C.

“Temperatures will be recovering” later in the week, Ms Kent said, adding that the weather is likely to be “unsettled” through the middle of December.

The Met Office expects more snow to fall over northern mountains by then, and this period will also see heavy rain and gales in the north and west of the UK.

“Late in the month there are signs that the weather may settle so that we see longer, drier and colder spells,” said Ms Kent.