December is set to get off to a snowy start as 19 counties are set for a blanketing of the white stuff later this week as an arctic blast drifts over the UK. Just a few weeks after the first lots of snow fell over the UK, areas around the country are set for another covering according to the latest weather modelling by WX Charts – with snow coming as soon as Friday evening.

The advanced weather modelling has forecast some wintry showers to begin falling at around 9pm and carry on into early Saturday morning. Up to 1cm of snow an hour is expected to fall over the worst hit areas in the Scottish Highlands, South West Scotland and Cumbria, although flurries of frost have been forecast to fall as far south as Birmingham and parts of the West Midlands under the possible whiteout.

Moving into the next day, the cold snap spreads south with temperatures in the Midlands and southern England and Wales forecast to be the lowest, with lows of -3C in Hereford.

Temperatures further north will remain cool after the previous night’s snowfall, with the majority of the country seeing lows of around 1C or 2C.

On this week’s Met Office Deepdive, meteorologist and presenter Annie warned of the potential for snowfall.

She said: “We get this band of rain pushing through, and that moves over the high ground in the north, because it’s going to be quite a cold, clear night on Sunday, we could see some snow over the high ground in northern areas.”

Looking past this week, December looks set to remain chilly, with more snow forecast in the coming fortnight.

Looking at the weather from Wednesday, December 17 until the new year, the Met Office’s long-range forecast predicts: “This period is likely to be changeable, with further spells of rain or showers and some strong winds at times, especially in the west. 

“Hill snow is also a possibility, mainly in the north. However, there is a greater chance of spells of high pressure during this period, bringing more in the way of dry weather.”