UK snow maps show where '2cm per hour' will fall as 'half of Britain surrounded'

A thick blanket of snow could cover half of Britain in the coming days, with weather maps indicating that snow will fall at a rate of "2cm every hour" in certain areas. According to the latest data from WX Charts, the mercury is expected to plummet to freezing temperatures on November 7, with Scotland likely to be the hardest hit.

The regions of Wick, Inverness, and Aberdeen are predicted to see the heaviest snowfall, with rates of 1-2cm per hour, as forecast by the weather agency. This comes after several UK towns were warned to prepare for a 150-mile-long snow blast as early as Halloween weekend, with areas in northwest Scotland, including Talmine, Tongue, Lairg, Ullapool, Dingwall, Garve, Fort Augustus, and Mallaig, in the direct path of the snow, reports the Mirror.

The BBC's Weather team has said: "Friday's outlook may provide a little more clarity regarding the patterns that will prevail at from the beginning of November. At present, the long-range weather prediction models are still showing conflicting trends."

"Conditions are likely to turn more unsettled and windy for the rest of this week, with temperatures dropping sharply. The outlook for next week has become milder and a bit calmer, with occasional dry spells, although there is still a risk of colder conditions breaking through at some point later next week or so."

Meteorologists at the Met Office have flagged a significant turn in Britain's weather as we head into mid-November, with forecasters predicting changes to the high-pressure system that could influence weather patterns across the country. There may be a drift of high pressure from the continent towards the north or northwest of the UK.

According to the forecaster: "This may allow areas of low pressure, south-shifted from their more typical tracks, to approach southern UK and bring rain or showers at times. As a result, after a relatively dry start to the month in the south and east it is likely to become wetter than average here, while conversely northwestern areas, after a wetter start to the month, will tend to revert to drier than average conditions."

The Met Office added: "Temperatures will probably be close to average for much of this period as a whole, although some colder interludes are possible."