Britain is set to freeze this weekend, with a cold weather alert in force across England, but there is another Arctic blast to come according to the latest weather maps. The mercury will plummet below freezing within days of the latest cold snap ending, according to WX Charts.
It comes after a major incident was declared amid widespread flooding in the Midlands on Thursday (January 4), with a yellow weather warning issued by the Met Office for rain across the south.
Showers are set to continue into Friday morning, according to forecasters, likely to affect parts of south-west and eastern England, Wales and areas in Scotland.
UK Health Security Agency issued a cold weather alert for the whole of England valid from 9am on Saturday (January 6) to midday on January 9.
Temperatures are likely to be below average with much more overnight frost. Ice is likely to be an issue given the very wet ground in most areas, according to the Met Office.
The latest maps from WX Charts show Britain will be in the grip of another Arctic freeze from January 17 with snow measuring up to 12cm falling per hour in Western Scotland.
Wales is set to see 1cm of snow fall per hour with parts of southern Scotland and northern England experiencing up to 7cm of the white stuff an hour, according to WX Charts.
By 6pm on January 17, snow depths will range from 17cm in Western Scotland to 3cm in the east of the country, while across most of England and Wales the snow depth will be much lower, 1-3cm.
Cornwall and parts of Devon look set to avoid the snow, however, with eastern areas of Kent also not seeing any, according to WX Charts.
The Met Office long range forecast notes there will be an increasing chance of snow showers developing, particularly in the north.
Weather maps generated today (January 5) by WX Charts using Met Desk data shows the mercury struggling to rise much above 4C in the UK, in the run up to the Arctic freeze on January 17.
Most of the country will be in the grip of freezing or near-freezing temperatures in the days before the snow is set to fall, according to WX Charts.
Temperatures look set to struggle to rise above 4C after January 17 too, although by January 21 only a relatively small part of western Scotland will see 0C, the maps show.
The Met Office long range forecast says there is an increased chance of colder than average conditions during this period.
It adds the chance of widespread severe cold is still deemed low, but still the risk of impacts from cold, including ice and snow, will be greater than normal.
