Britain set for ‘one of the coldest weeks of this winter so far’

The coldest week of the winter could be just around the corner, with most of the population likely to see a few flakes of the white stuff.

A series of weather warnings are in place, forecasting snow and ice from Sunday and throughout next week, the Met Office said.

The mercury could plummet as low as minus 7C (19.4F) in some parts of the UK, while the bulk of the population can expect to shiver through subzero temperatures.

Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said the first full week of February will probably be “one of our coldest weeks of this winter so far”.

He said: “It’s going to be a cold week, plenty of dry weather around, but many places will probably see some snow at some point during the week, but for a lot of us not really amounting to much at all.

“Probably one of our coldest weeks of this winter so far, but snow-fall wise, doesn’t really look too disruptive at this stage.”

Around 1-3cm of snow could accumulate inland, mainly over hills above 100 metres.

Mr Snell said the working week would start on a “bitterly cold” note, with the bulk of the population waking up to temperatures between 0C to minus 2C (32-28.4F)

The temperature is set to plunge in sheltered parts of Scotland and spots most prone to the cold in the Midlands and Wales.

Then, between 9pm today and 3pm tomorrow, there is a further chance of snow and ice for the north of England, northern Ireland, north Wales and Scotland.

A spell of rain, sleet and increasingly snow will move east across the UK.