UK weather: Snow and -4C set to make Britain ‘colder than Russia’ as Met office issues warnings

Parts of the UK will actually feel colder than Volgograd in Russia, where it’s currently 1C

The UK is set to feel colder than parts of Russia today as cold air moves in from the north, forcing temperatures down to -4C in areas of northern Scotland.

The cold snap comes following a relatively mild week, which saw the UK experience highs of around 12C. Warmer air will however, be forced southeast as the cold front moves in.

Met Office weather warnings for both ice and snow are currently in place across Scotland and are set to remain until Sunday. According to the weather forecaster, this means that “some roads and railways [are] likely to be affected with longer journey times by road, bus and train services.”

Forecasters said that frequent and occasionally heavy snow showers are expected on Saturday night and Sunday in Scotland. These, combined with strong westerly winds, may well lead to blizzard conditions and drifting snow on higher routes across the Highlands.

The regions affected will be central, Tayside, Fife, the South West and Lothian and Borders, Strathclyde, the Highlands and Grampian.

Around 2-5cm of snow is possible in places, with up to 10-15cm accumulating on routes above 300 metres.

Elsewhere in the UK, rain and wintry showers will take hold although these will eventually clear to sunshine in the southeast of the country on Friday afternoon but temperatures will be lower than earlier in the week.

Although highs are forecast to be between 2C and 7C, wind chill could make things feel a lot colder, as cold as -4C in the north.

The Met Office has issued weather warnings for ice and snow (Met Office)

Many locations in the UK will actually feel colder than Volgograd in Russia, where it’s currently 1C.

Weather for the weekend will continue to be unsettled, particularly in the north with snow and gales expected to hit parts of Scotland on Sunday.

The south will remain mostly dry but temperatures will stay low.

Met Office officials say that the fairly mild winter is coming to a very abrupt end.

Snow is on the way according to forecasters (Getty Images)

“We have some fairly typical winter weather in store.”

“After the recent mild spell, we are going to see a cold interlude,” said the Met Office’s Chief Meteorologist, Steve Ramsdale.

“It will not last long and by the weekend milder air is once again starting to return from the west.

“It is not unusual for us to see snow in February, and there are no signals currently for anything out of the ordinary,” he added.

The news comes just one week after Storm Malik and Storm Corrie battered the country with gusts of over 90mph in some places, leaving tens of thousands of homes without any electricity.