UK faces -3C snow bomb this weekend with '4 inches per hour in England'

The UK faces a -3C Polar snow bomb - with as much as 11cm per hour hitting the country. 4.3 inches of the white stuff are expected, according to WX Charts, which has projected a snow flurry on December 22 and into December 23.

Places set to be hit include Carlisle in the North East of England, as well as Newcastle, Middlesbrough, and Leeds in Yorkshire. Maps and charts, projected by WX Charts using Met Desk data, show flurries down into the east coast in Lincoln and Norwich.

In an update issued today (Tuesday December 17), the Met Offi,ce forecast explains: "Likely starting off very unsettled, with blustery showers, a mix of rain, sleet, some hill snow and soft hail being driven in by a strong to gale force northwesterly wind.

READ MORE People on DLA warned they will have to 'wait 10 months' for payment

"Southeastern areas most sheltered from these but widely feeling very cold. Gradually turning more settled through the following week, with cloud, stronger winds and outbreaks of rain increasingly becoming confined to northwest Scotland, as an area of high pressure becomes established across at least the south of the UK.

"It may even become settled here too, but confidence in the north/south boundary between settled and unsettled gets steadily lower through the period. Becoming widely mild, perhaps exceptionally so in some places, although clearer spells overnight may lead to localised frost and fog."

Its December outlook into mid-January adds: "Changeable, with spells of wet and windy weather interspersed with some drier, more settled interludes. The heaviest rain and strongest winds will generally be in the north, with the south drier and less windy overall. Temperatures will likely vary around average, but with a trend toward milder conditions favoured, especially in the south."

The forecast continued, saying: "Some snow is possible during any colder interludes, especially over high ground in the north."