Weather: Will it snow this weekend? Met Office reveals forecast - as the cold spell continues

The Met Office has forecast snow this weekend on higher ground, as the cold wet weather persists across the UK.

Today’s forecast reads: “Pulses of rain pushing across the UK, accompanied by hill snow in the east. Potential for icy stretches. Drier and brighter spells across northern Scotland, plus southwest England later. Cold for many, though slightly milder in the far southwest.

“Occasional rain and drizzle continuing, mainly in the east with a little hill snow. Fog patches developing under clear spells in the southwest. Drier with some frost across northern Scotland.”

It also says it will be breezy in coastal areas, and mildest in the south west,

Forecaster Alex Burkill said: “It's a bit of a wet start for some of us today and there will be some winteriness around, some sleet, some snow, even a bit of freezing rain to watch out for. The greatest risk will be across some parts of northern north-eastern England, particularly towards the east of the Pennines here, we're most likely to see some snow building up.

“We're talking above 200 metres or so, we could see a few centimetres here or there, maybe a little bit to lower levels as well. There's also, like I say, some freezing rain around, particularly over the Pennines and so we could see some fairly difficult driving conditions with some icy surfaces, watch out for those

“Even elsewhere across into parts of Scotland there's some sleet, some hill snow around and the potential for some freezing rain as well, so it's not just in this chunk of northern England where we currently have a warning where there could be some hazards. Otherwise, a wet start for quite a few places.

“Rain continuing as we go through the day across many parts of Wales, the Midlands and some outbreaks of rain, sleet and snow feeding in across eastern parts of Scotland as well. A bit damp at times across Northern Ireland but gradually seeing things turning a little bit drier, maybe even some glimmers of sunshine breaking through.”

Freezing rain is when water freezes on impact with the ground. It can cause photogenic patterns, but can create very icy roads and is also a danger to aircraft.