With a white Christmas on the cards, the lead up to the big day will see heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures cover the nation.
December 23 will see a huge snow blast cover the UK. (Image: WXCHARTS/PA)
The UK is set to be hammered by up to 23cm of snow falling and a brutal -9C Arctic blast with the latest weather maps turning icy blue.
The whole of the UK will be plunged into bitterly temperatures on December 21, with the latest data from WXCharts showing a freezing blast of cold air pushing across from eastern Europe.
Then less than 48 hours later, large parts of the country could be hammered by heavy snowfall.
On the morning of Monday 23, many Brits will wake up to snow falling outside of their windows, as a huge wall spanning from the top of Scotland all the way down to Cardiff brings the white weather.
The start of the day will see flurries of up to 18cm per hour in Scotland, with northern England seeing 6cm.
Snowfall will cover the north of the UK in the morning of the 23. (Image: WXCHARTS)
Up to 23cm of snow will hit areas in Scotland. (Image: WXCHARTS)
Later in the day, snow begins to settle as maps turn from white to purple. Areas between Manchester to Inverness could see snow on the ground, with a whopping depth of 23cm in western Scotland.
Northern England could see depths of 1-4cm, while Wales, Northern Ireland and patches across Birmingham and Devon can expect flurries.
The wintry, unsettled conditions will be accompanied by icy temperatures on December 23. In the evening, the whole of Scotland will be plunged into sub-zero digits, falling to as low as -9C.
The warmest area of the UK will be Cornwall, reaching 4C. Similar figures can be expected in the south, as the capital and surrounding counties hover at 2-3C. Wales will be slightly chillier with an average of 0-1C, with Northern Ireland seeing the same.
Temperatures to reach -9C next weekend. (Image: WXCHARTS)
Minus digit figures sweep the nation on the lead up to Christmas. (Image: WXCHARTS)
In its long-range forecast for December 16-25, the Met Office predicts the period will start with the the far north see rain and around the middle of the week, “low pressure may dominate, with a spell of mild, wet and windy weather for most places”.
However thereafter, “the more likely scenario is for an unsettled regime to dominate”.
This will bring spells of wind and rain, while “some hill snow in the north, are likely”. This will be followed by blustery showers which could turn more wintery in the northwest.
