April showers to turn snowy as Britain braces itself for Arctic blast over the weekend
Cold winds and falling temperatures could bring snow to Scotland and northern England after heavy showers pounded country on Friday, with sun returning on Sunday
WINTRY weather is set to return to the UK this weekend after The Met Office issued snow and ice weather warnings.
Scotland will bear the brunt of the arctic blast, with snowfall of up to 5cm on higher ground.
Heavy showers pounded most of the country this afternoon, soaking tourists in London and providing treacherous driving conditions.
Temperatures are predicted to drop over Friday evening as cold air moves in from the north, and some parts of the country could see snowy showers.
Emma Sharples, Met Office meteorologist, said: "Cold air coming in from the north is going to give a fair chance of wintry showers, as we've seen throughout the course of today.
"Ground above around 200m will see the most impact and there could be 2-5cm of snow. Even down to lower levels there will be a bit of a covering.
"Notwithstanding the snow risk, with clear spells in between the showers it could turn quite icy.
"That is something people need to be aware of if they are going to be up and about early on Saturday.
People walking, driving or cycling on untreated roads will need to take a little bit more care."
Heavy showers moving south acrosss England and Wales could turn to hill snow and ice over Saturday night, but by mid morning the ice risk is predicted to have disappeared.
Northerly winds will ensure the weekend still has a wintry feel, despite sunny spells forecast for Saturday.
Sunday should see temperatures begin to recover with sunny spells across most of the country and the chance of some showers in the north.
Ms Sharples added: "A ridge of high pressure is expected to move into place on Sunday which typically brings quite settled conditions.
"For Scotland, other weather fronts are coming in from the west so the further east the better it will be with dry, fine, good weather. The Highlands and Islands and parts of the west will have a more cloudy day on Sunday with showers.
She said the sudden changes between warm weather, spring showers and cold blasts were not unusual for April.
"The weather has been quite changeable but that's typical for this time of year. April is a bit of a strange month where you see one thing and then another."