UK weather: Spring starts with snow warning for much of Britain as wintry conditions continue

Wales, Northern Ireland and western Scotland and England could see snow

Daffodils could be blooming in the snow (PA)

Spring technically started today but parts of the UK could see several inches of snow tonight as the wintry weather continues.

A weather warning has been issued for much of Wales, Northern Ireland and western parts of north England and Scotland.

Transport disruption could be caused by up to 10cm of snow on higher ground and ice will be an additional hazard across northern Britain.

The Met Office said the conditions were being caused by a cold westerly flow from Canada bringing a mix of sleet, snow and hail showers on Sunday night into Monday.

But with warmer daytime temperatures and sunshine, any snow or ice is likely to melt in the morning.

“Some people will see snow and others won’t – it’s hit and miss,” a forecaster at the Met Office said.

“It’s unlikely that it will settle and cause disruption. With the roads warming up, any snow that falls will just melt away in the daytime.”

Conditions in southern and eastern parts will be drier with sunny spells, although blustery rain showers are expected for most of Monday.

The warmest places are in south-east England, with temperatures hitting 12C in Heathrow today, although most of the UK was still in single figures and Bowling, in Scotland, struggled to reach 2C.

The forecaster said: “It’s still normal for the time of year. It’s nothing out of the ordinary because we have literally just come out of the meteorological winter.

“We are expecting that this could be one of the last spells of snowfall.”

The cold snap comes after a short-lived spell of unseasonably warm weather that seemed to herald the start of spring at the end of last week.

Britain is currently on course to have its sunniest winter in almost a century.

Statistics released by the Met Office show that by 25 February the country will have already seen 189 hours of sunshine – equal to the 2001 record.

However, although the UK overall has enjoyed glorious weather, parts of the country have had their wettest winters in years.