A 200-mile band of snow is forecast to sweep across 18 areas of England and Wales as an Arctic blast returns from Monday night into Tuesday, according to Met Office maps. The UK is already in the grip of a cold snap, with temperatures dropping to -6.4C in Cumbria and Brecon last Thursday.
Cold snap continues
After another freezing Saturday, conditions are expected to ease slightly on Sunday as Atlantic fronts bring rainfall, before icy Arctic air tightens its grip again. A swathe of wet weather is pushing northwards, with snow predicted where it collides with the bitter cold air.
Met Office maps show snow sweeping horizontally across the UK, through northern Wales and England from midnight on Monday and into the early hours of Tuesday. The band then tracks northwards and eastwards through the night before eventually breaking up.
Snow details and warnings
By around 3am, the snow begins to take hold in southern Scotland, below Glasgow, sweeping across northern England and reaching as far south as Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. Some areas could see snowfall exceeding 5cm, with hilly regions of central Scotland potentially receiving close to 15cm.
BBC weather forecaster Helen Willetts warned: "We can see that northerly wind coming back in later in the day pushing those weather fronts out of the way by the start of Monday and we are back into that sparkling Arctic air."
She added: "Tuesday looks quite an interesting day as we've got this next weather system running to the south of the UK, as it comes and bumps into the cold air we could have a spell of snow." Willetts noted that the forecast could shift slightly north or south, but wherever the weather front grinds to a halt, snow could fall primarily on the hills but potentially at lower levels as well.
Areas affected
Regions bracing for snow on Tuesday include Wales (Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Wrexham, Powys) and England (Merseyside, Cheshire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Lancashire, Cumbria, Durham, Newcastle, Northumberland). Parts of Scotland, including Dumfries and Galloway, the Scottish Borders, and several other areas, are also facing snow.
A Met Office forecast states: "Into next week, unsettled and cold conditions remain with rain, sleet and (mainly hill) snow key features." Its outlook for Monday to Wednesday reads: "Colder, but sunnier on Monday. Wintry showers in the far north, with rain, and hill snow moving north across the UK into Tuesday. Brighter, but colder again for most midweek."
