Spring on hold until weekend as forecasters predict Arctic blast will be replaced by hail and thunderstorms through to Wednesday

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

A blast of late winter weather has brought snow flurries to many parts of northern England and the Midlands.

Towns as far south as Norwich woke to a sprinkling of snow on Tuesday morning, with Staffordshire, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the north-east also reporting wintry showers.

Hail, sleet and snow: arctic blast heralds brief return of winter in UK Read more

There was no repeat in England of the more significant snowfalls seen in parts of northern Scotland on Monday, but forecasters warned thundery showers could bring hailstorms and more wintry weather on Tuesday.

Alex Burkill, a Met Office meteorologist, said: “We are going to see plenty of showers. They could be intense at times and, as a result, that will bring the risk of something wintry, even though temperatures are set to climb a little bit as we go through the day.

“The further north you are, the better chance you’ve got of catching a shower and a greater chance of any shower turning wintry. But you can’t rule it out further south.”

Burkill said Wednesday would be the last of the cold snap, with temperatures rising towards the end of the week.

Snow in late April was unusual but not rare, he said, pointing out that showers hit parts of Britain on 26 April last year.

Burkill said nighttime temperatures remained cold but not record breaking. Redesdale Camp in Northumberland recorded the lowest in England on Monday night at -4.1C (24.6F).