Met Office names two areas facing snow within hours as -5C deep freeze looms

The Met Office says snow could fall in some parts of the UK this evening. The national weather agency expects most places to remain “dry” today with “variable amounts of cloud and sunny spells” across the board. There will be “showery outbreaks of rain” in the north, where conditions could turn “ cold ”. “Cloud and patchy rain” is expected to move southward tonight, the Met Office adds. Scotland faces “blustery showers” - and these showers could fall as snow in the Northern Isles (Orkney and Shetland) this evening, according to the forecast. Temperature anomaly maps show areas of deep blue across Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England this evening and into tomorrow morning. This indicates where temperatures are expected to be well below the seasonal average. The Met Office says temperatures could plummet to -5C overnight in northern areas. Overnight lows of 0C are expected in the south. For tomorrow, the Met Office again expects most places to remain “dry” with “patchy cloud and sunny spells”. There will be “a few showers breaking out across Northern Ireland, Wales and southwest England”. Temperatures are again expected to be below average for this time of year. The Met Office predicts overnight lows of -4C in northern areas and -2C in the south. Thankfully, temperatures should generally turn warmer later this week. The Met Office forecast for Thursday to Saturday states: “Largely dry at first with some sunny spells and fairly cool. Increasing chance of showers on Friday and rain possible in the south on Saturday. Turning warmer.” BBC Weather’s forecast states: “Thursday will see areas of cloud and showers develop from the west but eastern parts should stay mostly dry with sunny spells. Windy in the north-west. “Friday looks to to be unsettled with variable cloud and scattered showers. An area of more widespread rain spreading across the south overnight into Saturday, this turning lighter as it pushes north. Mostly dry in the north.”