Festive carollers singing “Let it snow” have certainly got what they wish for as snow was “deep and crisp and even” as far south as Exmoor in Devon after more winter weather.
Swathes of Scotland have been affected by snowfall, as well as Ireland. Gale-force gusts gave the green isle its largest ever recorded wave. The 20.4-metre crest was recorded by a buoy 60 miles off the coast of Donegal on Tuesday 13 December.
Forecasters have issued warnings that freezing temperatures are set to continue, with the risk that “any part of the UK could see some snow flurries". Even London is expected to receive a spattering of snow by the end of the week.
Dan Williams from the Met Office told the Mail:
"The storm that was heading in is looking like it is going to take a more southern track.
"It means that on the northern side, there will be more cold air so that means there's a risk of snow that will cover much of the north, Wales and the Midlands.
"Exactly how much, it's hard to say but we're looking at the risk of a couple of centimetres at low level and more on higher ground.
"We're also looking at some fairly suppressed maximum temperatures by Friday of about 4C as the top temperature.
At the moment the Met office is unaware of how severe the weather will be, and tracking these patterns helps forecasters to determine where will be most affected.
Severe gales were predicted for along the south coast, but it now seems to be as if these squalls will mainly blow in the channel, hitting land in the North of France. (as narrated in the above video)
However snow is now expected for most of the UK, and the bad news is that this snow is going to cause maximum disruption. It will be preceded by rain which will wash off the salt from the roads, causing a big freeze.
Storms have resulted in a number of near misses for home owners, as Richard Wilkinson’s bedroom was torn to pieces by a tree in Winchester. In West Sussex, a family of four had a miraculous escape after a tree crashed through their conservatory, a room where their children usually play in.
In Orkney a seal was found inland in a field of sheep after gale-force gusts. Winds of up to 138.5mph were recorded on the island.
But as Chris Burton from Meteogroup told the Press Association: "It's not unusual to get a westerly flow from the Atlantic causing stormy weather over the UK during autumn and early winter. For the last few years it's been different, with colder weather, so it seems worse than usual, but it's not."