UK weather: Parts of Britain could face snow within weeks after waking up to ‘coldest night of the year’

The UK could see snow in just weeks according to the latest forecasts as Brits woke up to -7C cold and frost on Friday morning.

The Met Office’s long-term forecast predicts we could see some flurries of snow in parts of the UK as early as the first week of February - just two weeks from now.

British Weather Service meteorologist Jim Dale said that as we progress toward the cold parts of the end of the year, higher pressure pulling away south and west, allowing a north-easterly air stream to come in could lead to snow events.

The Met Office’s long term forecast predicted snow in the north of England and Scotland next month.

The long-range forecast for 3 February to 17 February reads: “Early February is likely to see a north/south split with more settled and cloudy weather expected in the south, while the north will be more changeable, milder, and drier than average for most.

“There is an increased likelihood of more unsettled conditions becoming established, where the northwest is likely to be wettest, but showers or longer spells of rain may spread to most areas at times, while the southeast is likely to be the driest.

“Spells of strong winds are likely to develop more widely at times in February. Temperatures are likely to be near or slightly above average although short-lived colder interludes are possible. Any snow likely to be restricted to high ground in the north.”

WXCharts weather website also predicted that there is a 60 per cent chance of seeing snow in early February in parts of Scotland and the north-east.

Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said that while wetter and milder conditions are most likely in the next weeks, the coldest portions of winter through the end of January and February bring a chance of conditions that result in snow in some areas.

Through the weekend, Met Office meteorologist Alex Deakin said the UK can expect frosty weather to continue.

“High pressure continues to dominate our weather which means most of us are not going to see much rain this weekend, “ Mr Deakin said. “Some pockets of frost will be seen across the east,” he added.

From Sunday into next week, the Met Office has forecasted largely cloudy weather, generally dry with some brighter spells at times. There is likely to be patchy rain, mainly hills in the far northwest with the risk of patchy frost and fog overnight.

The BBC Weather service also predicted patches wintry frost through the weekend, although less severe than Thursday night’s -7C conditions.