Met Office verdict on exact date 'severe' snow to hit UK as cold snap returns

The Met Office has warned that 'severe' snow could hit the UK next week as temperatures are set to plummet.

After a mild Christmas, Brits can expect much colder conditions to arrive before the new year, with snow likely to fall in some places.

Parts of the UK saw the mildest start to Christmas Day on record this year. A top temperature of 14.2C was reached in Dyce, Aberdeen, while temperatures reached 13.9C in Wales, and 13.8C in Durham.

Over the next few days, the Met Office said the UK will see more cloudy and mild conditions. By the end of the week, there will be some rain across parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland, with brighter but chillier conditions in the far northwest.

By Sunday, the UK is forecast to be brighter, but colder, with blustery showers, followed by rain and hill snow in the north. But from Tuesday, December 31, next week the Met Office has warned Brits to expect an "erratic change" in the weather, that could bring more widespread snow across the UK.

In its long range forecast for the period of December 31 to January 9, the Met Office states: "An erratic change from the mild and largely settled conditions of the past few days is expected. Rain, stronger winds and some snow already across Scotland may on Tuesday become more severe and start to push southwards through the middle part of next week, bringing a chance of snow to other parts of the UK, along with colder conditions more widely."

The cold snap is not set to last too long however, with a return to milder conditions expected by the end of next week. The Met Office forecast continued: "A period of more settled weather then seems probable later next week, with a gradual recovery in temperatures to nearer average for the time of year,