Looks like it's time to get the big coat out - winter is finally here. Temperatures are set to plunge across Greater Manchester next week, with widespread frosts and 'brisk winds' on the horizon.
The mercury could get as low as -4°C with the odd 'wintry shower' bringing the slight chance of snow. Elsewhere in the UK forecasters are expecting up to 10cm of snow to fall and there are fears of strong blizzards in some parts of the country.
Read more:
Tonight (Sunday) Met Office forecasters predict largely cloudy skies over Greater Manchester with an easterly breeze bringing a scattering of showers. It will be turning chilly but staying largely frost free, with a minimum temperature of 1 °C.
Monday will be cold with 'brisk winds' and a few light showers. Temperatures will peak at 7 °C. The outlook for Tuesday to Thursday in our region is mainly dry with much brighter skies than we've seen this weekend.
But it's going to get much colder as the week goes on with widespread overnight frosts and isolated showers, these turning wintry by Thursday, when overnight temperatures are forecast to drop as low as -4°C.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for Wednesday covering parts of Scotland. Experts predict between 2cm and 5cm of snow to settle in lower areas, rising to 10cm at higher levels.
The Met Office said: "Showers will fall as snow to low levels on Wednesday. Accumulations of 2-5 cm are possible at lower levels, with 5-10 cm above 200 metres, with some drifting and blizzard conditions in the strong northerly winds."
The weather warning covers Central, Tayside & Fife, Grampian, Highlands & Eilean Siar and Orkney & Shetland. Scotland is likely to face the first snowfall of the season over the next couple of days, thanks to a wintry storm named the 'Troll of Trondheim'.
Forecasters have said it's down to a spell of low pressure originating from Norway which will hit the UK, resulting in plunging temperatures and snow.
Jim Dale, of the British Weather Services, said: "You can feel now it’s starting to get a bit colder, but it is just ordinary - I call that no man's land which we will be in for the next five to six days yet. In Scandinavia, north of Norway, pressure is starting to go low - and that low elongates and will move towards us carrying the cloud with it, but also low pressure bringing precipitation which is bound to be snow. Scotland will be the first to taste this."
Jim warned that December 10-15 will bring the 'worst' of the cold spell.
He continued: "I think what’s happening is the low-pressure zone is coming south and through the North Sea. We will see where it goes - whether it will affect the Midlands and south - which at the moment it probably will."
It comes after the Met Office warned of a cold couple of weeks, with the weather forecaster saying: "Confidence remains low for this period. More settled conditions are expected, with the potential for higher pressure over the UK, leading to drier weather. "Whilst temperatures may average out close to normal overall, colder conditions are possible at times, with a risk of overnight frost and fog higher than normal."
Read more of today's top stories here
READ MORE:
- 'Cup of coffee saved me from being raped... it might have saved my life'
- Police release CCTV footage after three attempted kidnappings that saw schoolgirls targeted
- 'He's abusive but I can't afford to leave' : the hidden victims of the cost of living crisis
- As the nights draw in, women and girls in Manchester feel a familiar sense of dread
- The streets where women have to choose between period products and food
