UK and Europe weather forecast latest, December 29: Temperatures plunge as snow showers to smash parts of Britain
	UK and Europe weather forecast latest, December 28: Storm Bella heading to Britain as shown by horrifying weather maps
	UK and Europe weather forecast latest, December 27: Widespread disruption, heavy rain bear down the UK as Storm Bella sets to hit

UK's weather forecast

Snow showers are set to smash parts of Britain from as early as Sunday night, with up to 18cm forecast to fall in Scotland by 9am on Monday morning, 4cm in north Wales and 2cm in the south of England, according to WXcharts. A bitter cold snap will see temperatures plummet to freezing and below for vast areas of the UK throughout the next fortnight as a deep area of low pressure engulfs the country.

Storm Bella - which has brought 100mph winds and flash flooding - will be replaced by a jet stream of cold air from the Atlantic and Greenland, Express reported.

The latest weather maps forecast snow showers will begin overnight tonight and become more widespread in the coming days.

By December 30, cold air from the Atlantic will see western areas of the UK hit by snow showers with 13cm landing in the far west of Scotland, 3cm in north Wales and 4cm in the north west.

Temperatures will drop to lows of 0C for central and southern parts of the UK with -2C in the north and -5C in Scotland.

UK weather: Cold air will close in from the Atlantic (Image: WXCHARTS)

Just 72 hours into the New Year is set to bring a blanket of snow showers across the whole of Britain.

On January 3, up to 22cm of snow is expected to fall in Scotland, 7cm in the north of England, 8cm in Birmingham and even 4cm in London and the south east, according to WXcharts.

The covering of snow will send temperatures spiralling once again with overnight lows of -3C in the south, -3C in the north and -4C in Scotland.

Persistent spells of wintery conditions are forecast to remain for the next 48-72 hours before clearing northwards.

During this period there is set to be widespread freezing fog in the early hours and the threat icy roads.

Heavy snow showers are set to continue into the following week with up to 47cm expected and temperatures falling to -10C overnight in Scotland on January 11.

Snow maps produced by Wxcharts show central and western parts of Scotland turning dark purple.

The cold front will begin tonight as temperatures fall below 0C for the whole of the UK, bringing widespread frost.

UK weather: Britain is set to be hit by widespread snow showers (Image: WXCHARTS)

According to the BBC long range forecast, the cold and unsettled conditions are being triggered by a weather system from the Atlantic moving southwards to allow Arctic conditions to push in from Iceland and Greenland.

The seven-day forecast warns the cold weather system will head towards Europe before moving in a westerly direction towards the UK.

It says: “This pattern will steer several low pressure areas south over the UK. This will allow cold air from Iceland, Greenland and even deeper into the Arctic to flow southwards over the UK, in the wake of these systems."

“A combination of cold and unsettled weather in mid-winter means that sleet and snow will be on the cards for some of us, even over some lower lying areas."

“Fronts pushing south-eastwards are most likely to bring snow to some of the hiller parts of the UK, where a covering of snow will build up during the week."

“At low-levels, it is more likely to be a very fine balance between rain, sleet and snow, with the detail very challenging.”

UK weather: Temperatures are set to fall to lows of -10C (Image: WXCHARTS)

Netweather.TV forecaster Terry Scholey added: “The now slowly filling storm Bella, continues to move South on Monday, when it may be the turn of parts of England and Wales to wake to a carpet or dusting of snow, particularly in hilly areas."

“But for most, it'll end up another day of sunny intervals and wintry showers after an icy start. Further snowfall is likely, especially on northern hills, but at lower levels the showers may fall as rain, sleet or hail at times. It'll be another cold, raw day in a northerly wind, with top temperatures only 2 to 5C.”

On December 30

According to Weather Online, cold northerly winds continue into Wednesday. Further areas of snow focused toward the northwest. Showers, some wintry, running down some eastern English coasts and into East Anglia too first thing. A weak area of low pressure is expected to develop bringing outbreaks of rain, sleet and snow to Northern Ireland, Ireland, Wales and much of England away from the north. Brighter conditions and wintry showers follow this. Highs at just 1 to 5C.

Photo: Weather Online

Europe's weather forecast

Breezy conditions expected across Spain and Portugal with persistent rainfall in the far north and along the coasts and then showers pushing through central and eastern areas. Showers or longer spells of rain across the Balearics, Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily. Rain, some heavy, across western parts of Italy. Showers across western Greece with a few scattered showers for west Turkey but mostly dry and bright elsewhere.

Unsettled across much of France with rain pushing over southern areas and a mix of rain, sleet and snow showers towards the north. Brisk coastal winds too. Snow showers for the Low Countries and Germany. Snow for higher ground across Switzerland and Austria and a mix of wintry showers over lower areas.

Snow affecting eastern areas of Norway and much of Sweden although it looks to stay mostly dry in the north of Sweden and in western parts of Norway. Snow showers across parts of Finland but with sunny spells here too. Snow showers turning to rain later and blustery winds through the Baltic States. A mix of rain, sleet and snow for Denmark.

Photo: Stirimeteo

Photo: Stirimeteo

On December 30

According to Weather Online, snow showers for northern Spain but a dry and bright day across the rest of the country and for Portugal. Early showers fade over the Balearic Islands to leave a dry and fine day here. More persistent showery rain affects Corsica, Sardinia and western parts of Italy. This turns to snow over the Apennines. Showers turn to heavy rain over western Greece while eastern Greece and much of Turkey sees a dry and sunny day.

Wintry showers fade over eastern France while, after a dry and fine start, heavy showers arrive over western France later. Wintry showers affect the Low Countries and western parts of Germany throughout the day. A mostly dry and fair day for eastern Germany, the Czech Republic and western Poland. Outbreaks of rain, sleet and snow affect Hungary, Slovakia and eastern Poland, some of which will be heavy. Isolated snow showers for Switzerland and Austria.

Photo: Weather Online

Cloudy for Denmark with patchy rain and sleet to the far north and south. Mostly dry for Norway though southeastern areas may see some sleet and snow. Widespread outbreaks of snow across Sweden - this turns to sleet and rain to the south. Snow showers fade over Finland to leave a dry but cloudy afternoon here. After a dry start, rain and sleet arrive from the south over the Baltic States.

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