Met Office reveals when snow will hit as maps show wall of ice heading for Britain

The Met Office is finally forecasting snow will hit parts of Britain in a matter of days.

It looks like an abrupt end to Autumn as freezing temperatures grip the UK.

Forecasters say snow will fall early morning this Saturday in the north east of Scotland.

Speaking in a YouTube video today, the Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern said: "For the start of Saturday, we keep the cold conditions at first across parts of Central and Eastern Scotland, so there will be a touch of frost in the northeast of Scotland and some snowflakes over the hills and mountains, as the rain bumps into into that cold air."

It comes as weather maps predict icy blizzards could hit the rest of Britain towards the end of November.

Temperatures will also drop to -6C in many places, with chilly overnight lows, while areas in the north will be the worst affected by the snow.

The WXcharts suggest snow will be falling at a rate of around 2cm per hour in some areas.

His latest forecast warned of an even colder December in the run-up to Christmas. He said: “A sudden stratospheric warming event from later this month and into December could change that outlook to an even colder and more wintry theme for many parts of the country, and would drastically change the overall outlook for December as a whole.

“There is a chance we could see a number of wintry blasts in the run-up to Christmas.”

James Madden, a forecaster for Exacta Weather, had earlier this week warned that "it is now increasingly likely that we will see at least 1-2 notable wintry blasts from late November and into the first half of December".

However, the rest of the UK it looks set for rain - and lots of it.

However for now, the rest of the UK it looks set for rain - and lots of it.

Speaking exclusively to the Express.co.uk, British Weather Services' Jim Dale said: "It’s all about rain… again!

"Focus mainly on Cornwall, where we could see 20-25mm and some localised flooding inevitable.

"High water tables and swollen rivers making what’s a bog standard event ‘warning worthy’."

However Mr Dale added although the Met Office predicts snow - it's not likely to engulf the rest of the UK for now.

He said: "It’s cold enough right now but it’s lacking moisture so can’t see anything obvious next few days.

"However, next Friday onwards far more likely - the Highlands & Grampians hogging most of it."

The freezing weather follows an absolute battering from Storm Debi followed Storm Ciaran - both of which left swathes of the country under torrents of gushing floodwater.

The Environment Agency has more than 138 flood alerts in force.

River levels are expected to rise through the week as Government officials desperately pump water from flooded waterways across northern, and southern Britain.