UK weather: Britain set for Easter snow as low pressure system drives in sweeping Atlantic rain

Warmth 'will be somewhat at a premium'

Temperatures are set to plummet over the course of the week and forecasters have warned there is a chance of hill snow in high altitude areas by Good Friday.

Conditions will turn "noticeably colder" as the week progresses, Met Office spokesman John West told The Independent.

However, he added that it was unlikely that the "Beast from the East" will return and it was also improbable that the "screaming easterlies" that brought widespread snow to the UK at at the start of the month, would reappear.

However, the Met Office nonetheless warned that "it is going to feel cold with a risk of snow in some places, particularly across higher ground in the northeast of the UK.

"Further ahead, the weather may become more settled across northern parts for a time, but southern parts are still likely to see showers or longer spells of rain at times."

A complex low pressure system driving in cold winds from the Atlantic is currently creating "a degree of uncertainty" about Britain's prospects over the coming days, Mr West said.

Britain will be mostly dry and mild on Monday, with a chance of fog and frost in some areas, before rain sweeps in across Ireland and drenches much of the country overnight.

"This does set the scene for an unsettled second half of the week with low pressure very much in charge in our neck of the woods," said Met Office forecaster Steven Keates.

“We run the risk of drawing in some cold easterly winds primarily into the far north of the country.

He added that there was "some uncertainty as to how far south this sinks but... warmth in the run-up to Easter will be somewhat at a premium”.