UK snow storm will see 'half' of England hammered 'by 2cm per hour'

UK weather maps show snow is set to HAMMER the country - with a "wall" of the white stuff smashing into "half" of England. 2cm could fall per hour across the west of Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and parts of northern England.

The flurries are scheduled to begin at 6am on December 12, according to WX Charts, which use Met Desk data. The North East and North West of England - including Newcastle and Manchester- look set to be struck despite some areas missing out.

The south of England, Midlands, East Anglia remain snow free, the maps show. It comes as the Met Office issued a forecast for the final month of the year, as December looks set to begin amid plunging temperatures this weekend.

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Looking ahead to Christmas, a Met Office outlook for December 13 to December 27 explains: "Across the south of the country, high pressure is signalled to be prevalent through the second half of December. Less settled weather is more likely at times though, especially across the north and west.

"This means wetter and windier spells are possible with a risk of some snow, especially across northern hills. These weather systems are expected to move fairly promptly, with settled spells developing between them, with settled conditions perhaps becoming UK-wide. As a result of these, frost and fog will be notably present where skies clear overnight.

"Temperatures generally close to average through the period, or slightly above in areas which are wet and windy." The Met Office forecast comes amid swirling reports a snow storm could return to the country before the calendar year is up.

In the short term, the outlook for Saturday to Monday this week explains: "Generally cloudier but milder during the weekend, with rain at times. Often windy across the west and the north. Temperatures begin to fall again come Monday with sunny spells."