Snow could be on the way as Greater Manchester heading for late winter freeze

Greater Manchester could get snow later this month, forecasters have warned.

New weather maps produced by MetDesk show the Greater Manchester covered in shades of purple and blue, indicating that snow could be on its way. Temperatures are also set to plummet and the snow is expected to be particularly heavy in mountainous areas on the West coast, including the Lake District.

Several inches of snow forecast for parts of the UK and as much as five centimetres could fall per hour over higher ground, according to data from MetDesk. Exacta Weather expert James Madden warned: "Confirmation is now also starting to come in from elsewhere, and the main third-party computer models are also coming on board with a major spell of cold weather and widespread snow across large parts of the country for in and around the middle part of next week and onwards.

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"Initially, it looks like these colder conditions will come from some cold northerly/northwesterly winds and a further evolution and the influence of something more substantial from the east is also still very plausible in this period and heading into March."

Mr Madden said conditions in the UK could see 'prolonged snow' carry over into Spring, the ECHO reports. He said: "The recent SSW will also intensify the magnitude and frequency of these cold northerly and easterlies in comparison to the wintry blasts we have experienced throughout this winter to date. Historically speaking and when we look at longer term trends from the past, we can also see that these cold winds from the north and east can be more common at times throughout the first several weeks of the meteorological spring, and particularly more so when