A 200-mile band of snow is forecast to sweep across a large part of England and Wales on Tuesday, according to Met Office maps, as an Arctic blast brings a spell of freezing weather to the UK.
The UK is already in the grip of a cold snap, with temperatures dropping to -6.4C in Cumbria and Brecon last Thursday. After another bitterly cold Saturday, the weather is expected to be slightly milder on Sunday, with fronts bringing rain from the Atlantic before northern cold air arriving from the Arctic once again takes control.
Where the snow will fall
Met Office maps show snow running horizontally across the UK, through northern Wales and England from midnight on Monday and into the early hours of Tuesday. The band then moves northwards and eastwards through the night before breaking up.
Around 3am, the snow begins in southern Scotland, below Glasgow, crosses northern England and goes as low as Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. There could be more than 5cm of snow falling in these areas, as well as nearer to 15cm in hilly areas of central Scotland.
BBC weather forecaster Helen Willetts said: "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."
Forecast details
Willetts added: "So even at lower levels in the north we could see some snow showers and they will certainly be gathering in force across the northern part of Scotland. 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."
She cautioned: "It is a long way off at the moment but we will firm up, don't take this as read because it could be a little bit further north or south but wherever that weather front grinds to a halt we could see a spell of snow primarily on the hills but not necessarily exclusively - we could see something at lower levels as well."
Willetts also noted: "We are staying in the colder air for much of next week."
Areas affected
A Met Office forecast stated: "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."
The areas facing the wall of snow on Tuesday include, in Wales: Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Wrexham and Powys. In England: Merseyside, Cheshire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Lancashire, Cumbria, Durham, Newcastle and Northumberland.
Areas of Scotland also facing snow include Dumfries and Galloway, the Scottish Borders, South Ayrshire, East Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire, Perth and Kinross, Aberdeenshire, Moray, Highland, and Argyll and Bute.
