Met Office issues warning as -5 snow blast hits England today

The deep freeze will reach -8 in Scotland and minus five in England

The deep freeze, which is said to peak at -8 in Scotland and minus five in England, marks the beginning of some very wintry conditions in the nation.

After hitting on November 29, the Met Office says that the cold will stick around until December 11.

Meteorologists on the Met Office site say: "Cold across the UK on Saturday with a mixture of sunny spells and some wintry showers, these most frequent across coasts in the north and east."

The Met Office said: “Wintry showers will lead to ice forming on untreated surfaces during Tuesday evening and overnight into Wednesday morning. Snow will begin to accumulate, especially away from windward coasts, with 1-3cm possible. Higher routes of north-east Scotland may see up to 5cm of snow accumulate.”

David Oliver, a Met Office deputy chief meteorologist, said: “The weather models are highlighting several possible solutions from very wet to mainly dry, with a mainly dry picture the most probable outcome at present. However, some models include the prospect of an area of low pressure developing and moving in from the south or south-west.

“If this solution proves to be correct, we could see an area of warmer and moisture-laden air ‘bumping’ into the cold air further north. Along the boundary of the two air masses lies a zone across southern and central Britain where snowfall could develop fairly widely.

"Snow in any affected area is unlikely to be anything more than transient and short-lived, but it could lead to small totals and some disruption over a few hours before melting."