UK snow map exhibits the precise hour flurries ‘begin to settle’ on New Year’s Eve

A New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day forecast which shows a -2C weather shift, while the Met Office The Met Office is predicting flurries and accumulations

The UK is gearing up for a New Year’s Eve snow blast as we march towards December 31, with the Met Office forecasting a chilly -2C shift in weather. Party-goers are being told to wrap up warm for New Year’s Eve as temperatures plummet.

Met Office boffin Tom Morgan said: “Not a lot changes through the rest of this week and indeed this weekend, but as we move towards the New Year, we could see a change to cooler conditions and wetter conditions more widely. There could be some heavy rain at times and there is an increasing chance of some snow – but it’s too early to say where that snow is going to fall.”

Up North and in the Midlands, thermometers are expected to hover around a nippy 4C, while the southwest coast of England and Wales might enjoy milder highs of 9C. Most of England will chill at about 7C.

The Met Office has also pinpointed when and where the first snow is likely to settle, with northern Scotland expecting the first flakes on Monday, December 30 at 6pm. Meanwhile, Netweather TV has thrown its hat in the ring with predictions of the white stuff from January 6 in its monthly forecast for the frosty Brits, reports Birmingham Live.

The Met Office has hinted at a chilly twist in the weather, saying: “There are indications that the blocking high to the north-west of the UK will drift south-eastwards during this week bringing a spell of dry, settled and rather cold weather. It is likely that there will be a northerly blast during the transition from wet weather to generally dry quiet weather, but there is a lot of uncertainty over whether the northerly will be sustained enough to give widespread snow – there is a possibility of it just being a 24 to 36 hour northerly with wintry showers just for north-facing coasts.

“The weather is forecast to be predominantly cold and sunny early in the week, but with more uncertainty over sunshine amounts later in the week, because an import of relatively moist air can result in anticyclonic gloom developing quite widely in these situations. Temperatures may end up rising above normal late in the week with more of a dominant westerly flow.”