Cold snap to hit nationwide as wintry showers expected in parts of the country

Mixture of wintry showers and rain expected in parts of the UK

Rain and snow is expected in some parts of the country (iStock )

A cold snap is to hit the nation as wintry showers are expected in parts of the country.

There will be a mixture of wintry showers and rain for East Anglia and the south-east of England.

Following a clear night with little in the way of cloud cover, temperatures will drop this could lead to some overnight frosts in places, forecasters warned.

There will also be wintry showers for north-west Wales but it Scotland in particular is expected to bear the brunt of the cold weather.

Forecasters said this could lead to “tricky” driving conditions with temperatures predicted to fall to minus 8C in parts of Scotland.

A yellow be aware weather warning for ice is in place for much of the north, covering the Northern and Western Isles and parts of the Highlands and Grampian.

The warning, forecasting sleet, rain and snow, also stretches into Strathclyde, Lothian and Borders and South West Scotland.

A Met Office forecaster in Aberdeen said on 26 December: “We’re going to see snow showers running from the Northern and Western Isles down into northern Scotland.

“Temperatures tonight will be well below freezing and when we get these showers they will bring icy stretches to untreated surfaces.

“There will be lying snow away from the coast, we’re expecting a couple of centimetres in northern parts of the country.

“Elsewhere, we’re expecting a widespread frost with temperatures of minus two (28.4F) to minus four (24.8) where there is snow cover and as low as minus eight in parts of Lanarkshire.

“There could be tricky driving conditions across the north in the morning.”

Agencies contributed to this report