Two inches of snow... and it’s not even December!

PARTS of England as far south as Suffolk could wake up to snow this morning after what may have been the coldest night of the season so far.

Up to two inches were due overnight, while temperatures in the early hours were on course to reach -6C (21F) in rural areas of the Scottish Highlands.

An overnight low of -4C (25F) was even possible in eastern England. The coldest temperature of the autumn so far was -6.3C (20.6F), recorded at Topcliffe, North Yorkshire, in the early hours of Saturday.

The Met Office issued a weather warning lasting through the night until 11am today for snow and ice down the eastern side of Britain. It covers from the Scottish Highlands down to East Anglia, including Norfolk and Suffolk. The Met Office cautioned: ‘Two to five centimetres (one to two inches) of snow may accumulate above about 100m, with smaller amounts at lower levels.’

Meanwhile Devon and Cornwall, western Wales and Northern Ireland were warned to beware of ice until 10am today.

Areas on the West coast could escape a frost, however, with a chance temperatures could hover above freezing. Met Office spokesman Nicola Maxey said the cold snap was due to an area of high pressure west of Britain. The chilly and bright spell is expected to last until the weekend.

On Saturday, there is due to be a build-up of cloud, followed by rain on Sunday and milder temperatures. But as the cold spell continued yesterday, bookmaker Betfair cut odds of a white Christmas to 5/2 in London, 9/4 in Manchester and 2/1 in Glasgow.