Britain was braced tonight for the first widespread snow of the winter as strong easterly winds sent temperatures tumbling. (Daily Mail 2nd January 2008)
The Met Office issued a weather warning covering almost the entire country with forecasters predicting snowfalls across most of the UK by Thursday night.
Up to 15 centimetres has been predicted for parts of Scotland, while England and Wales can expect at least a couple of centimetres. Council gritters were standing by to counter the widespread frosts that were likely to hit most areas early tomorrow.
But the first cold snap of the New Year is likely to be short-lived, with temperatures in southern England reaching as high as 8C by Friday.
Marco Petagna, of MeteoGroup, said: "Temperatures are going to be around 1-4C but it will seem colder as there will be a biting east wind. But milder weather will be coming in from the west late on Thursday."
Mr Petagna said the snow should not stay around for too long and some areas, such as south west England, may just get rain.
