Snow is likely to fall on parts of the UK this week, the Met Office has said. Snow showers are expected on the North Sea coast, including in Scotland and the north-east of England, from Wednesday and heading into the weekend.
However, what falls from the sky may not necessarily settle on the ground. “There will be snow showers but we are not likely to see significant accumulation on the ground,” said the Met Office spokesperson Oli Claydon.
The rest of the UK will experience frosty weather from Tuesday, with temperatures forecast to dip to -8C (17.6F) in sheltered hills and glens in Scotland. Parts of rural eastern England could face temperatures as low as -5C.
“We could see some snow moving into south-eastern parts of the UK towards the end of the week, including Hampshire. However, it may also remain dry,” Claydon said. He advised people to check the weather before travelling.
Rain showers were forecast across the north and east on Monday night. On Tuesday there would be sunny spells for many, with showers mainly in coastal areas, the Met Office said.
The weather was then expected to become more unsettled, with wintry showers in northern parts of the UK and some rain in the south.
Forecasters said on Monday there would be “bands of rain, heavy at times, across Wales and south-west England, clearing southwards. Brighter skies following from the north but showers and hill snow affecting parts of Scotland and north-east England where it will also be windy.”
In the evening there would be showers continuing across the north and east but largely dry elsewhere with clear spells. It would turn cold under the clear skies with a frost developing, mainly in the north.
On Tuesday, they predicted sunny spells for many but showers in places, mainly near coasts but potentially moving inland at times, with some snow over high ground in the north and feeling cold.
Last weekend, temperatures dropped below freezing in some areas across the country overnight. It dipped to -5C in parts of Scotland in the early hours of Sunday morning, and in many areas in northern England and Wales the overnight temperatures were at – or close to – zero.
On Saturday, a lunar halo – caused by the refraction of moonlight from ice crystals in the upper atmosphere – was spotted over Staffordshire, the West Midlands, Surrey, Berkshire, Dorset, Yorkshire and the Isle of Wight.
