The entirety of the UK could be set for a dramatic plunge in temperatures in just over a week, as new weather maps predict a brutal snow blizzard which could blanket the entire country. According to the latest WXCharts maps for January 7, generated on December 29, a huge snowstorm, with bitterly cold temperatures as low as -12C, looks set to descend from the West in the early hours, sweeping across the entire nation and leaving barely a county unaffected.

According to forecaster WXCharts’ ‘Winter Overview’ map for 6am on January 7, a deep low-pressure system will track close to the UK, dragging moisture into the freezing air mass. This combination will fuel heavy snow bands, particularly by this point across northern and eastern England and Scotland (having already struck western regions earlier on Wednesday), with blizzard conditions possible in exposed areas. Western regions initially experience rain or sleet, before rapidly changing to snow as colder air moves in. While conditions will continue to evolve, the ECMWF model strongly suggests the UK faces one of its most widespread snow events of the winter so far, with virtually no region escaping the freeze.

WXCharts’ ‘Minimum Temperature’ maps paint an even starker picture. At midnight on January 7, temperatures are expected to drop to as low as -12C across central and eastern Scotland, with much of England and Wales falling to between -2C and -5C overnight.

Meanwhile, ‘Snow Depth’ maps valid at 6pm on January 7 show much of northern Scotland buried under 20cm to 30cm of snow, with parts of the Highlands exceeding that. Just north of Newcastle looks set to see 24cm alone. Northern England and the Midlands will also be affected, with 5cm to 15cm of snow widely reported, while even southern counties, including London, Kent and Cornwall, will see accumulating snow.

Ireland is not spared either, with snow depth charts indicating a covering across most regions, particularly inland and higher ground.

The Met Office’s own separate long-range forecast for January 2 through to January 11 reads: “Cold northerly winds, initially across Scotland are now expected to become dominant across the whole UK in the first week of January. These will bring wintry showers (often of snow) to many coastlines (and areas just inland of these) that are exposed to onshore winds.

“Subtle day-to-day changes in wind direction from northeast to northwest will change the places most exposed to the showers, but many inland locations across central and southern areas will remain mostly dry but cold. There are likely to be some more coherent bands of rain, sleet and snow working south, and these may bring a risk of more prolonged wintry precipitation affecting some inland areas.

“Towards the second half of this period, slightly milder conditions will attempt to move in from the west.”

Regarding its long-term forecasting, the Met Office warns: “When looking at forecasts beyond five days into the future, the chaotic nature of the atmosphere begins to play a larger part – small events currently over the Atlantic can have potentially significant impacts on our weather in the UK in several days’ time”.