Winter has officially arrived, and with it, snow could soon be hitting the UK, with the latest weather models predicting showers to hit as far down as the South Coast. Weather maps from WXCharts have shown snow sweeping down over large swathes of Britain, with heavy snowfall reaching Cornwall, parts of Wales and Scotland on Friday, December 12.

The forecast shows the cold Arctic air sweeping down from the north of the UK, meeting the moisture of the Atlantic to trigger snow, sleet and icy winds across parts of the South West. Models predict temperatures during this time to be around 0C overnight, only reaching highs of 4C in the day, leading to the perfect conditions for some snowfall.

The snow is forecast to first hit Northern Ireland, the Highlands and parts of North Cornwall at midnight on December 12.

By 6am, the frost will have moved up to North and Mid Wales with up to 1cm falling every hour.

The snow will also continue to fall over Scotland, where they can expect up to 20cm to have built up on high ground.

By 12pm flurries will remain over parts of Mid Wales, while the heaviest snowfall will have moved east in Scotland, covering areas just west and north of Aberdeen, which will see temperatures hang around -1C.

Into Saturday, temperatures will once again remain colder with lows of around -1C, but sweeping rain will mean much of the snow is unlikely to settle – not disrupting any pre-Christmas plans.

The Met Office’s long-range forecast took a more cautious approach.

Posting the forecast from December 6 until 15 online, their experts say: “Likely a continuation of the unsettled conditions seen for much of the week with further showers or some longer spells of rain affecting much of the country. 

“On Saturday a frontal zone is expected to move east and this could bring a spell of locally heavy rain, particularly on hills exposed to the strong southerly winds. 

“Behind this turning brighter but with showers, some of which could be heavy and thundery. 

“Its possible we could then see yet more organised, locally heavy rain move across most areas on Monday. Generally temperatures will be close to average, but it will likely feel quite chilly in the often wet and breezy conditions.”