UK weather latest: Looming cold snap expected to bring snow

Frost, hail and snow could blanket the UK when temperatures start to drop at the end of the week

A looming cold snap could bring snow to parts of the UK as temperatures plunge below freezing.

Large parts of the country awoke to widespread frost on Monday morning but the Met Office said that while there had been three short cold snaps over the past few weekends, the weather would get slightly milder in the coming days – before a return to sub-zero conditions.

Forecaster Helen Chivers at the Met Office told The Independent the next three days would be mild and cloudy with “the odd spot of rain” and lows of 6C to 8C in the south.

But, she said, the weather was likely to get colder again at the weekend.

“There could be a touch of frost on Saturday night and Sunday morning as temperatures drop below freezing, particularly in the countryside,” she said.

Wintery showers are expected over high areas in the north and the Pennines on Saturday and Sunday, with dry, bright weather in the day and frost at night.

More wintery showers could be seen across the UK at the start of next week, bringing the possibility of hail and snow.

“There is a small chance of snow from early next week onwards,” Ms Chivers said.

She said snow was most likely across the tops of the Pennines, Snowdon and in Cumbria.

Temperatures are expected to fall below average in the coming weeks.

Met Office forecaster Sophie Yeomans told MailOnline: “From 26 November to 10 December, temperatures look like being below normal generally, with an increased risk of snow at times, particularly in the north.”

It fell to as low as -3C on Sunday night in parts of Scotland, Gloucestershire and mid-Wales, though it was not the coldest night in the UK so far this autumn.

The mercury dropped to -6C in Braemar in Aberdeenshire on 6 November.