Brits are being warned of freezing fog and severe gales to hit the country before heavy snow lands on Sunday night.
After a mild December, the UK has seen spells of icy temperatures this month and it is set to be another cold start on Friday morning as typically wintry conditions continue.
Then after a milder Saturday a new Arctic plunge will see heavy snow in parts and temperatures over the next week could fall as low as -5C.
Maps from WXCharts show a chilly day on Sunday with rain turning to snow with up to 20cm (7 inches) falling in Scotland.
The snow is expected to continue throughout next week and by the following weekend maps show it having spread with several centimetres falling also in north west England and Wales.
At the same time temperatures will be as low as -5C in Scotland and -4C in north west England.
Before that there will also be frost and fog to contend with on Friday morning before temperatures pick up.
Met Office forecaster Clare Nasir said: “Some mist and fog, low cloud in the south and some frost, at the same time.
"These isobars gathering towards the north west through Friday meaning some stronger winds, more cloud and also some outbreak of rain.”
She continued: “Watch out for mist and fog in the south, some low cloud and temperatures falling close to freezing if not below so a fairly widespread frost here, pockets of frost further north east across England, even eastern parts of Scotland during the first part of the night.”
The mist and fog is expected to have lifted by mid morning and temperatures could rise to as high as 11C on Friday.
Then for the weekend, it is expected to be very windy with the possibility of "severe gales" in Scotland on Saturday and then it will get colder on Sunday.
Ms Nasir said. "Very windy in the north with gales as this weather front sinks down towards the south and then again a ridge of high pressure exerts its influence from the south west so a fairly widespread frost into Sunday morning before this system skirts up to the north and again and a risk of gales, even severe gales for a time and also some quite heavy rain."
UK forecast for the next 5 days
Today:
Chilly start for England and Wales with some fog patches, mainly in the south, slowly clearing. Becoming cloudier in west with some drizzle. Cloudier in Scotland and Northern Ireland with rain and gales in far north. Becoming milder.
Tonight:
Rain and drizzle in west, this heavy and persistent in the far northwest. Some clear spells in east. Mild and increasingly windy, particularly over Scotland where gales, locally severe, expected.
Saturday:
Very windy over Scotland with gales, locally severe, easing from the northwest. Rain here clearing to showers and becoming colder. Generally windy elsewhere but some mostly dry.
Outlook for Sunday to Tuesday:
Remaining changeable with spells of rain and showers, including snowfall over northern hills and further strong winds. Varying temperatures, but mildest in the southwest, and coldest in the northeast.
