England’s first snow since final winter may very well be simply days away, Met Office says as forecaster reveals when EVERYONE might see a sprinkling of the white stuff

Britain is preparing to face its first widespread snowfall since last winter as temperatures take a dramatic plunge across the country from this weekend.

The UK has been enjoying unseasonably mild weather for late autumn in recent weeks, although Storm Claudia will bring wet and windy conditions tomorrow.

But an upcoming shift in wind direction will lead to Arctic air taking hold over the country, with an increased chance of snow in the North through the weekend.

Snow has already begun falling in parts of Scotland today, where people were photographed walking during flurries on Cairngorm Mountain in the Highlands.

By the middle of next week conditions could also be cold enough for the whole country to see snowflakes at times, according to ITV forecaster Laura Tobin.

The Met Office has warned of a ‘big change in our weather ahead through the next ten days’ with conditions being ‘noticeably colder everywhere’ by next week.

Ms Tobin told Good Morning Britain today: ‘It’s so mild. Are we really going to get snow next week? And the answer is: yes, we are. It’s exciting, isnt it! We’re going to say goodbye to the mild and hello to some sunshine as well.’

She said cold air would start to push down through Scotland and northern England from the weekend, adding that charts from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMRF) confirmed snow was looking likely from Saturday.

Kirsty Taylor and her two-year-old daughter Maisie at Cairngorm mountain in the snow today

Temperatures are expected to fall several degrees below this month’s average maximum

There could intially be snow showers on Scottish hills, before more significant snowfall on Sunday in the Highlands and parts of northern England and Wales. Snow could again be seen in northern Scotland on Monday, before a pause on Tuesday.

But Ms Tobin said that on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, ‘for everybody next week there is a chance of seeing snowfall – it will be most significant across northern areas, but there’s a chance of all of us seeing snow as we head into next week’.

Before then, flooding could hit parts of the UK tomorrow with forecasters issuing two amber warnings for rain as Storm Claudia strikes with heavy downpours and strong winds.

But the North of the UK will be firmly under a colder airmass by the weekend, with overnight frosts along with drier and brighter weather despite the odd shower.

Further South, the weekend will begin largely cloudy and wet and still mild in the far south, but the rain will gradually ease and eventually clear to the south.

The drier and colder conditions further north are expected to affect all parts of the UK by the start of next week.

The Met Office said: ‘Into next week, it will initially be noticeably colder everywhere, especially in the north and east, with a brisk northerly wind accentuating the colder feel and bringing the first snow of the season for some.’

The weather service’s meterologist Alex Burkill added: ‘There’s a big change in our weather ahead through the next ten days.

‘We’re going to say goodbye to the milder and at times wetter weather we have at the moment and instead we’re going to see something markedly colder and with that the risk of some snow for many places too.’

Temperatures in the South are currently several degrees above average for the time of year, but these are going to drop to below average through this weekend.

ITV forecaster Laura Tobin told Good Morning Britain that the prospect of snow is ‘exciting’

By Monday the Arctic air will move all the way across the country, and temperatures are forecast to be several degrees lower than average for the time of the year.

Mr Burkill said: ‘That’s really going to mark quite a change to what we’ve become used to really through much of November when it’s been so exceptionally mild.’

He added: ‘A big talking point though is going to be the chance of seeing some snow.’

Mr Burkill continued: ‘Sunday into Monday, that colder air starting to cut through, greater chance of seeing some showers coming in across northern parts of Scotland in particular, a reasonable chance of seeing some sleet and snow.

‘So affecting parts of Northern Ireland, Northern England, maybe North Wales as we go into Tuesday. But it’s then through the middle and end of next week when things perhaps get a bit more interesting.

‘There’s the potential for a weather system to push its way southwards as the high drifts away towards the West. If this happens, we get some snow on the northern edge of it and that feeds its way southwards. We could see a bit of snow across many places.’

The last snow warning issued by the Met Office in the UK was during last winter when a yellow alert was imposed for parts of Scotland on February 18.

The most recent snow warning for England was for parts of the North West on January 24.