A blast of wintry weather is set to hit the UK before the year is out, with a drop in the mercury, stormy rain and wind and snow forecast for large parts of the country.

According to WXCharts

, the worst of the snow bomb will hit Scotland on Saturday, December 21, with rainy conditions moving across western regions including Glasgow and the Isle of Skye, and snow around Inverness and Aberdeen in the north.

By midday, snow is forecast to spread to northern regions of England including Cumbria and surrounding parts of the Midlands.

WXCharts also predicts a showery front sweeping from Aberdeen in the north east to the southern Scottish coast and across Northern Ireland, with isolated rainfall also likely in Manchester and Cardiff on Saturday afternoon.

The latest weather maps show purple bands continuing to close in from the northwest as the weekend continues, with the Scottish Highlands forecast for up to 10cm of snow and temperatures of around 0C by Sunday morning.

And northern England could also wake up to a snowy landscape on December 22, with parts of Yorkshire around the Pennines seeing depths of up to 3cm.

Meanwhile, flurries will continue falling thick and fast across most of Scotland, according to WXCharts, with around 3cm expected each hour from Wick in the north down to the Perthshire border.

By midday on Sunday, patchy snow is expected in parts of England, particularly in northern regions, but will remain concentrated in Scotland, with higher areas continuing to record depths of around 10cm.

Areas along the north west coast will also see showers of up to 3mm per hour early on Sunday morning, with the wintry spell moving inland to drench parts of the Peak District.

Southern and western regions are expected to dodge the brunt of the icy blast, with some rain predicted around Birmingham and on the Welsh coast overnight on Saturday and temperatures hovering around 5C.

The Met Office’s long-range forecast for December 20 to 29 also predicts showery rain across the UK, with the wettest and windiest conditions in the north.

Temperatures will stay around the seasonal average, according to the forecaster, with some milder and colder interludes and snowfall largely contained to higher ground.

Met Office’s five day forecast:

Today:

Heavy rain in the north and west of Scotland. Mostly dry in other areas with sunny spells.

Tonight:

Rain continuing across Scotland and Northern Ireland, with mild, breezy and dry conditions elsewhere.

Tuesday:

Showers in northern and western regions accompanied by strong winds. Bright spells and mild temperatures in the south.

Outlook for Wednesday to Friday:

Blustery showers on Wednesday with rainfall continuing in the south and temperatures dropping across the UK at the end of the week.