Sudden Cold Snap Set To Bite Britain A sudden cold snap is due to start today, with northern Scotland being the first area in the UK to be battered by freezing temperatures, forecasters have warned. North-westerly winds whipping off the Arctic are expected to bring at least two weeks of near-freezing conditions, making November up to 3C (37.4F) colder than last year, Meteogroup warned. Temperatures are expected to fall below zero across the country and peak at just 4C (39.2F) or 5C (41F). People in the higher regions of Scotland are expected see the season's first blanketing of snow. Further wintry showers are expected to move south as the week progresses. A Meteogroup forecaster said: "It does look like much of the UK is in for a cold spell. For at least a week, there will be cold north-westerly winds. Temperatures through next week will be much lower than recently and generally below the November average. It will struggle to get up to four or five degrees and during the nights temperatures will be below zero quite widely, meaning frost across most places. There will be some snow but mostly confined to North Wales and northern Scotland - where there will be a few centimetres - and a few wintry showers elsewhere. He added that there was a possibility for snow to move into southern areas as the cold winds move down across the country. Into the week, it will remain cold but there will probably be dry weather in most areas. At the moment we're not seeing much snow; there may be some but not any significant amount of that would settle. It will be cold for quite a long prolonged period, certainly through to next week. Sky News weather presenter Nazaneen Ghaffar said all parts of the UK would feel the mercury plummet by Tuesday. "North-westerly winds will continue with wintry showers likely across northern and western Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, west Wales, Devon, Cornwall and North Sea coasts," she said. The wintry showers over Wales and south-west England are only likely over higher ground and accumulations are unlikely. Elsewhere further north the snow could fall at all levels with slight accumulations over western Scotland and Northern Ireland. The rest of the UK will be mainly dry with sunshine, but the north-westerly winds may blow some wintry showers inland to parts of Merseyside and the Midlands.