Regions across the country could be hit by days of heavy snowfall this weekend, as an icy blast moves over from Scotland to eastern England in a blizzard lasting up to 120 hours. Weather maps from WXCharts show snow hitting northern parts of the UK from 12am on Saturday, December 7, and continuing until around 12am on Thursday, December 12.

According to the maps, the areas worst affected by the wintry spell will be in north east England including Northumberland and Cumbria, which could see snowfall of around 2cm an hour kicking off the weekend. Inverness and Wick, alongside other Scottish regions, will also record depths of up to 5cm at around the same time after snowfall towards the end of the week.

Meanwhile, other parts of England are likely to see heavy rainfall early on Saturday, with around 5mm per hour forecast for parts of the southeast and Manchester in the north.

Temperatures are expected to drop across the UK during the same period, with lows of 0C in Scotland and parts of England including Newcastle and Durham. Northern Ireland will also see the mercury hover just above freezing as the snowstorm begins to take hold elsewhere in the country on Saturday and lows of 5C are forecast elsewhere in southeast England.

By 12am on Monday, December 9, snow is also expected to fall in eastern regions, with the cold snap stretching down through Yorkshire to the Lincolnshire coast, with temperatures potentially dropping to lows of -1C in the south, the WX Charts maps suggest.

While most of the icy barrage is likely to stick around until midweek, heavy rain clouds moving across Britain on Wednesday and Thursday are forecasted to chase it away by the end of the week, with the last remnants of the snowstorm disappearing from Yorkshire and Cumbria by December 12.

The Met Office’s long-range forecast from December 7 to December 16 predicts “colder, showery and windy conditions” with temperatures “varying around average with both some colder and milder spells”.

When it comes to this evening and night’s forecast, the UK weather agency says Britons should expect “clear spells and generally dry weather”, with just some scattered showers on the east coast. The northern areas, the agency added, are to become “frosty overnight”, with some icy stretches around dawn.

On November 3, the Met Office forecasts “cool, dry and bright weather across most regions”. Northern Ireland and Scotland could experience rain in the afternoon and evening, which in the latter area may turn into snow later in the day.

Wednesday will be “generally cold, dry and sunny across the UK”, while “outbreaks of rain and wind with slightly milder temperatures” should be expected on Thursday.

The will could end with “wet and windy weather forecast”, the Met Office said.