Met Office and BBC have say over '168 hours of snow' set to hit England

New weather maps reveal a 515-mile snow and rain storm could batter the UK within days. WX Charts, which uses Met Desk data, shows temperatures plunging with the white stuff set to return to England.

Now the Met Office and BBC Weather teams have had their say over claims a "non stop" blizzard could arrive in December. As we approach Christmas, the meteorologists have discussed WX Chart which suggest snow from December 8 to 15 - which the Daily Express points out is 168 hours' worth.

Hinting at a wintry spell, the BBC remains uncertain, saying: "The risk of slightly wetter and above all windier conditions is likely to continue, and perhaps be even more pronounced in eastern parts of the UK. Furthermore, a continuation of a rather wintry spell is possible, more so at the beginning of this week.

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"However, high pressure could set in from the west later in the week and it could get a little drier and calmer as the week progresses, though there remains low confidence in this. Temperatures could climb above average again as the high pressure moves further east of the UK, along with a brisk southerly flow for a time." Its forecast spanning December 9 onwards goes on to explain in its week-by-week outlook: "Nevertheless, any high pressure could be rather short-lived as new Atlantic lows approach, bringing fairly unsettled conditions back to the UK."

The Met Office, meanwhile, says moving into the second week of December, there are signs of more settled weather developing more widely, especially across the south and southwest of the UK. This may well bring a spell of mainly dry conditions in these areas, probably with patchy overnight frost and fog.

"Any outbreaks of rain and wind in this period are more likely to affect the north. Temperatures will vary around average for December, with some milder and some colder days," it goes on to add, in an update on its website.

The Met Office forecast spans December 4 to 13.

However, James Madden, from Exacta Weather, said: "The output and outlook are for some much colder conditions at times from this Monday, and widespread snow showers will develop across some large parts of the northern half of the country and in some parts as far south as central England and Northern Ireland for our exact dates of December 2-4.

"Additionally, this will be followed up by an even more potent, prolonged, and widespread snowy period for a longer duration of even higher confidence for that period of December 11-19 (possibly a little earlier) for which the output and outlook are even stronger for many parts of the country to experience ice and snow."

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