Snow is on its way and its heading south throughout the week

If you’ve been out of the door today, you’ll have noticed it’s distinctly chilly – and there’s colder to come, with some areas set to see snow tomorrow and Wednesday.

Britain is heading for a cold snap, with temperatures dipping below freezing in parts of the country and sleet, snow, and ice all possible.

The ‘notable change’ in the weather comes after much of the UK and Ireland was battered with torrential rain and gusts by Storm Claudia, including unprecedented floods in Monmouth, where the high street was underwater.

A cold weather warning has been issued by the UK Health Security Agency for the Midlands, North West and North East England from Monday and will remain in place until 8am on Friday.

While we won’t be turning into Lapland, and prospects for building snowmen may be patchy, there are snow symbols on the weather map, though in reality it may be more of a sleety slush.

Where could see snow in the UK?

According to the latest Met Office weather map, Scotland will see most snow tomorrow evening and night, while on Wednesday there will be more of a dusting in northern England, including places like Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Middlesbrough, and Hartlepool.

There are not currently any weather warnings in place, but the forecaster warned people to keep checking, as ‘it is possible warnings may be issued for snow and ice at times’.

A minimum temperature of -7°C was recorded on Saturday night in Tulloch Bridge, Scotland, marking the coldest night in the UK since March.

Why is it suddenly so much colder?

In other parts, warmer wetter conditions will be soon replaced by a ‘cold northerly flow’ from the Arctic, Met Office forecaster Dan Holley explained.

He said: ‘This will bring much colder conditions than of late and, whilst generally drier than recent days, there will also be a risk of wintry hazards, such as snow and ice.

‘There will be widespread frosts across the UK, with temperatures dipping as low as -7°C in places next week, and daytime temperatures staying in single figures across the country.

‘Couple this with a brisk northerly wind, and there will be a marked wind chill. This will be a notable change in our weather after a prolonged spell of above-average temperatures.’

RAC Breakdown spokesperson Alice Simpson said: ‘There’s potential for freezing temperatures to make roads hit by heavy rain very slippery with a chance of ice.

‘We expect breakdown volumes to be around 10% higher than what’s normal for this time of year, which equates to around 1,000 more people needing our help each day.

‘Normal indicators of autumn, like fallen leaves on the road, can also become very hazardous in icy conditions as they create an extra layer between tyres and the road surface, increasing the likelihood of skidding.’

The cold snap comes after a major incident was declared in South Wales, where dozens of residents were evacuated from flooded homes.

Significant rain brought disruption to businesses, transport and energy infrastructure.

Peter Fox, the Conservative Senedd member for the area, said the situation was ‘extremely bad’ and he hadn’t seen anything like it for decades.

‘I personally haven’t seen it so bad for probably 40 years, certainly in Monmouth since defences were put in place there’, he said.

Evacuated residents were supported by Red Cross volunteers at a local leisure centre.

In Monnow, river levels were higher than those reported following Storm Dennis in 2020 and Storm Bert last year.

Parts of England were also hit badly by the storm, with at least 20 homes flooded including in north as Cumbria, the Environment Agency reported.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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