Britain is set to be blanketed in snow thanks to a cold winter front, according to new weather forecasts. Maps from WXCharts using MetDesk data show snow - indicated in purple - moving across the UK on New Year's Day, with several centimetres falling per hour over much of northern Scotland, Cumbria, parts of Northern Ireland and Wales.
The rest of the country however, will stay mostly dry, other than a few rain showers along the south coast of England. The cold snap around January 1 will follow a mild Christmas period, with temperatures as high as 13-14C forecast for December 25. The unseasonably warm weather is being brought by a high pressure system and will last beyond Boxing Day, according to the Met Office. Deputy Chief Meteorologist, Rebekah Hicks, said: "We’ll start to see high pressure to the south of the UK bringing in more settled and much milder conditions from Christmas Eve. Christmas Day itself will be cloudy for most, although some eastern areas of the UK, most likely eastern Scotland, may see some clear or sunny spells.
"We could see some drizzle across hills in the west, and some more persistent rain is possible for northwest Scotland but overall, it will be a fairy cloudy, nondescript day. Conditions on Christmas Day and Boxing Day look to be exceptionally mild for the time of year, especially in the north. East and northeast Scotland, for example, could see overnight temperatures that are 10°C above average on Christmas morning.”.
