UK weather: Met Office warning as Brits braced for up to 30cm of snow and icy chill

Blizzard conditions and freezing temperatures are expected across the UK this weekend as a result of a blast sweeping over the country from Scandanavia.

There will be “prolonged periods of snow” and up to 30cm of snowfall in the higher areas, according to the Met Office.

The predicted nasty weather has resulted in several amber and yellow Met Office weather warnings being put in place across the country.

And a warning for snow and ice will cover the length of Britain from midday on Saturday to midnight on Sunday.

It is also feared the conditions could result in power cuts in southern Scotland and northern England and make roads impassable across the weekend.

Met Office forecaster Steven Keates said it will be “really unpleasant” to be outdoors, adding: “If you do have to go outside there are lots of layers required I think.”

Mr Keates said the south will see a “marked” drop in temperatures across Saturday and Sunday, with some parts possibly seeing as much as 5-10cm of snow.

“Enough snow is on the cards I think to cause potentially quite a bit of disruption in the southeast of England through Sunday, and potentially very early next week as well,” he said.

It comes as the first snowdrops of the season have begun to emerge, often seen as the start of spring.

Birmingham faces lows of minus 2C by Tuesday morning, while a strong easterly wind will make it feel many degrees below freezing in some parts.

This follows the Environment Agency putting in place dozens of its second-most-severe flood warnings.

The sections are put in place on rivers including the Thames, the Severn, and the Ouse.

There are also more than 100 less-severe flood alerts almost every region of England.

By next week, temperatures will be struggling to get much above 0C in quite a few places, with some areas such as the Pennines and high parts of Scotland seeing several degrees below that.