Brrrrrr.... Cold weather on the Way!
Snow and blizzards will hit most of the country on Thursday and Friday, with temperatures hovering above zero and feeling colder from the effect of icy winds, the Meteorological Office said on Wednesday.

"This will be our first taste of proper winter weather this year," said a Met Office spokesman, and follows one of the mildest Octobers on record.

Forecasters are predicting this could be the coldest winter in a decade but the government insisted the severe weather would not cause any shortages of public gas supplies. The cold snap will hit northern Scotland early on Thursday, reaching southern England overnight Thursday and on Friday morning.

Northern and eastern Scotland and Northern Ireland are likely to get the most snow and could be hit by severe gale force winds, while the southeast's chance of snowfall is put at around 30 per cent. Maximum daytime temperatures will be around 4 to 5 degrees centigrade (40°F) with high winds making it feel colder. Overnight temperatures will fall below freezing.

Higher ground is most at risk of snow, which could settle up to a depth of 20 cm, but milder weather over the weekend is expected to melt away most of the snowfall.