A WALL of icy showers and snow will sweep into parts of the UK today after low temperatures plunged to as cold as -8C last night.

The Met Office has issued severe ice and snow warnings across Scotland, Northern Ireland, the north of England and Wales until Monday morning – when yet more bitter gales and freezing showers are expected.

Weather forecasters say the coldest sub-zero conditions will be felt in the Highlands of Scotland overnight – while thermometers struggle to reach above 2-4C in the south of the UK.

Around three centimetres of snow could also blanket higher ground in Scotland and also The Pennines,Met Office forecaster Craig Snell snaid.

He added: "There are warnings in place for ice and hill snow for north Wales, north England and Scotland throughout the weekend, so roads could be extremely slippery.

"There could be up to three centimetres of snow falling, particularly on hills above 300 metres in Scotland and The Pennines.

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"The rest of the country will also feel cold as bitter winds and rain showers continue.

"Temperatures could dip to around 2-4C in the south this evening."

The cold snap began on Friday night when temperatures of just 8-9C were cancelled out by fierce gales of between 40 and 50 mph – meaning it will felt as low as 0C with the wind chill factor.

Icy rain battered Devon and Cornwall, while Scotland, Cumbria and parts of Yorkshire woke up to snow on Saturday.

But the big freeze is set to thaw by the end of this week, with temperatures back into double figures in the south.

Mr Snell explained: "It will remain cold, windy and rainy until about Thursday when it will begin to feel a lot milder as temperatures begin to climb.

"In London, temperatures could even reach the low teens – and it will be a lot drier, too."

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