Summer starts out with snowy showers

The eastern side of England welcomed British Summer Time with flurries of snow after the UK enjoyed a period of warm weather.

People in eastern areas woke up to wintry showers yesterday morning – in a marked change from the sunny conditions many experienced last week.

Bookmakers have seen a flurry of bets on a white Easter as odds were slashed on snow falling in April.

People took to social media yesterday morning to tweet about snow falling in several areas, including West Yorkshire, Norfolk and Kent.

“There’s a cold north-easterly wind adding to the cold feel”

Boxer Nicola Adams tweeted a video, in which she could be heard saying: “Is that snow? Oh well. Good thing I’m inside.”

Greg Dewhurst, senior meteorologist with the Met Office, said the weather would become warmer and cloudier next week.

He said: “It’s a big contrast today compared to last week.

“We’ve got a mixture of rain, sleet and snow showers across eastern England at the moment and they will continue for the rest of the day.

“There’s a cold northeasterly wind adding to the cold feel. There’s some hail, but there’s some sunny spells as well.”

Mr Dewhurst said the snow was unlikely to settle at low levels and the sunny spells should melt any snow on higher ground.

He said: “The good news is that cold feel doesn’t last too long over the coming days.

“As we go into next week, it tends to stay on the cloudy side, so not the blue skies of last week, but temperatures will climb.”