0:00:03 > 0:00:03The big freeze is on the way.
0:00:03 > 0:00:06We have not had weather like that in a number of years.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08Let's have a look at the key points.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10Disruptive snow on the way,
0:00:10 > 0:00:12winds will be bitter
0:00:12 > 0:00:15particularly across eastern and southern areas of the UK.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18Frost and ice, but there will be sunshine as well.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21It won't be snowing all the time - there will be
0:00:21 > 0:00:22crisp, blue skies as well.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24This is the picture for next week.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28That cold air all the way from Russia will have engulfed
0:00:28 > 0:00:31the whole of the continent and drifted way out into the Atlantic.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33This does not happen very often.
0:00:33 > 0:00:37Let's see what will be happening day by day and break it down.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40Monday morning, the first of the snow showers will start to
0:00:40 > 0:00:42reach Eastern counties of the UK.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45Initially there will not be too many of them
0:00:45 > 0:00:48and for many Monday is a sunny, bright, cold day.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51Temperatures will struggle, barely above freezing.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55Winds will be strong, particularly across the south and east,
0:00:55 > 0:00:57hence it will feel colder than that.
0:00:57 > 0:01:02Temperatures could feel as cold as -5, maybe even lower than that.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04And then we'll be watching these snow clouds
0:01:04 > 0:01:08developing across the North Sea as they are driven by that
0:01:08 > 0:01:10increasing east to north-easterly wind.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12By the time we get to Monday evening,
0:01:12 > 0:01:16early hours of Tuesday, more snow showers will bring
0:01:16 > 0:01:19a covering of snow to these eastern areas of the UK.
0:01:19 > 0:01:20By the time we get to Tuesday,
0:01:20 > 0:01:24widespread snow showers are expected across the country.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27The strength of the wind will be such that the snow
0:01:27 > 0:01:30showers you can see developing will blow
0:01:30 > 0:01:33right across the country, the whole of the UK,
0:01:33 > 0:01:36into Ireland, and possibly out into the Atlantic as well.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39Most of us will see some flakes of snow and it will be settling
0:01:39 > 0:01:42and it will be very cold as well.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45And these snow showers, developing over Tuesday evening
0:01:45 > 0:01:48into the early hours of Wednesday.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51On Wednesday there will be even more snow showers around.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54Winds will be so strong that in some areas
0:01:54 > 0:01:56there will be drifting on top of that as well.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59Particularly around eastern areas of the UK.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03Again the wind will be such that snow showers will continue to
0:02:03 > 0:02:06cross the country. They will be hit and miss.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10It is virtually impossible to say which town will get a snow shower,
0:02:10 > 0:02:14which town will get more snow compared to another one.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17These are the daytime temperatures.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20Really below freezing across most of the UK.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24And this is a very rough guide how much snow there could be
0:02:24 > 0:02:27lying on the ground by the end of Wednesday.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31Possibly 10-20 centimetres in some eastern counties, further west
0:02:31 > 0:02:35a little bit less than that, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is more.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38Very difficult to predict exactly how much snow,
0:02:38 > 0:02:40just a rough idea at this stage.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44Temperatures first thing on Thursday morning in the middle
0:02:44 > 0:02:47of cities will be widely down to -4 or -5.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49Where there is snow in the countryside
0:02:49 > 0:02:51it could be -10 degrees or lower.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55It gets very interesting towards the end of Thursday.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59We could see another spell of very wintry, snowy weather with
0:02:59 > 0:03:03easterly winds and an area of low pressure bringing some
0:03:03 > 0:03:05moisture, mixing with this cold air.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07Strong winds on top of that, gale force winds.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09All of this is snow.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12This could mean potential blizzards across
0:03:12 > 0:03:15southern parts of the UK. Yes, blizzards.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19At the moment, we are not certain of this, but there is potential for it.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21And even as we head into next weekend
0:03:21 > 0:03:24that milder air tries to mix in with the cold air,
0:03:24 > 0:03:27and on the boundary there could be yet more snow on the way.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29Stay tuned.