Temperatures are expected to plummet to -10C (14F) in parts of Britain this week as an icy blast sweeps across the country, bringing snow showers, strong winds and frost.

An Arctic maritime air mass from northern Canada will produce a sustained period of freezing weather, starting with a cold northerly wind, which will hit parts of the UK on Wednesday evening, including northern Scotland and the North Sea coast, as well as Northern Ireland, parts of Wales, Devon and Cornwall.

As the cold air moves south over the relatively warm sea, it will result in showers across northern, western and eastern coasts. Many inland areas are expected to avoid most of the snow, but it will feel cold, with strong north-westerly winds.

Daytime temperatures are likely to be between 2C and -5C, but could dip lower where there is snow. A frost will develop overnight in many places, with severe frost likely in the north.

The air mass will spread southwards on Wednesday, with the heaviest and most frequent snow showers likely across northern and western Scotland, Northern Ireland and around Irish Sea coasts.

There will be coastal gales as well as a risk of hail and thunder in some locations.



The Met Office issued a “yellow” severe weather warning for snow and wind from Wednesday evening to noon on Thursday.

It said the cold air would bring snow showers and strong winds to areas including Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Cheshire West and Chester, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Halton, Lancashire, Merseyside and Warrington.

Gusts of 55mph are expected in exposed coastal areas and on hills, as well as blizzards.



Areas subject to warnings could experience 2-5cm (0.8-2in) of snow, with 10-20cm possible on higher ground. Lightning could accompany the heaviest showers, with potential disruption to power supplies as a consequence, the Met Office said.

Snow showers are expected to develop that, combined with strong winds, could affect travel conditions.

The #Jetstream will bring unsettled weather this week, moving southwards from midweek bringing #cold #Arctic air and the risk of #snow pic.twitter.com/6kMpEY4Cmo — Met Office (@metoffice) January 8, 2017

Freezing temperatures across Europe in recent days have led to more than a dozen deaths and major disruption to power, water supplies and transport networks. Temperatures as low as -30C caused ice to form on the Adriatic Sea, the Danube and many small rivers, lakes and ponds.



Very #cold weather continues across Eastern Europe with #snow ⛄ falling as far south as #Greece pic.twitter.com/2cYPis4ZS5 — Met Office (@metoffice) January 8, 2017

In Italy, eight deaths were blamed on the extreme cold, and there were two more weather-related deaths in Poland on Saturday. In Bulgaria, police said three people, including a man from Iraq and a Somali woman, had died from cold in mountains near Turkey as they travelled to Europe.



Jenny Rourke, the deputy chief operational meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “A cold spell of weather will affect the UK from Wednesday. With strong north-westerly winds, all areas will feel the cold and there will be snow showers, especially in northern and western areas.

“With wintry weather anticipated later this week, we’ve issued weather warnings for snow and wind, and we advise people to check the latest forecast and weather warnings before they travel.”

The Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna said: “We could see the coldest day of winter on Friday. A cold front moving in from the Atlantic will bring heavy frost and frequent snowstorms.

“It is likely that 5-10cm of snow will come in from the north and fall as far as the south of the country on Friday, and there could be even thicker snow in the hills.

“Daytime temperatures on Wednesday will be about 4-6C, but harsh winds will make it feel as if temperatures are well below freezing. Temperatures will become increasingly colder throughout the week and by Friday, it is likely that night-time temperatures will be as low as -2C.”