The Met Office has issued a 44-hour yellow warning for large swathes of the country as Britain prepares to be hit by heavy snow this weekend.

Temperatures are expected to plunge to -10C (14F). The Met Office said up to 1ft of snow could fall between 12pm on Saturday and 9am on Monday, with much of England and almost all of Wales warned.

The Met Office warns of possible power cuts with services such as mobile phone coverage possibly impacted. There is also a “slight” chance some rural communities could be cut off.

There is also a chance of travel delays on roads as some vehicles and passengers become stranded. Delays or cancellations to rail and air travel are possible too.

The forecaster said outbreaks of rain spreading northeastwards later on Saturday and overnight into Sunday will likely be preceded by a spell of snow on its northern flank.

It added: “Whilst there is a fair bit of uncertainty as to how far north this may spread, and how long any snow will last, significant accumulations of snow are possible, especially (but not exclusively) on hills.

“Currently, parts of the Midlands, Wales and northern England are most at risk of disruption, where 5cm or more could accumulate fairly widely, with perhaps as much as 20-30 cm over high ground of Wales and/or the Pennines.

“This, accompanied by strengthening winds, may lead to drifting of lying snow.”

In addition, as milder air attempts to move northwards into southern and central areas, Snow could turn to freezing rain, adding to the risk of ice, as milder air tries to push into southern and central parts of the UK.

The Met Office said if milder air spreads more northwards, any snow in southern parts of the warning area may be relatively short-lived before turning to rain.

It added: “Given the uncertainties, it is quite likely this warning area and start/end times will be refined over the coming days as confidence increases in areas most likely to be impacted.”

MORE TO FOLLOW