BRITAIN is set to be battered by a triple-whammy of snow, flooding and brutal winds with a bone-chilling -5 Arctic blast on the way.
Snow warnings are likely to be in place for the rest of March with the temperatures dropping to their lowest point in Scotland next week, with other areas of the UK averaging a chilly 0C.
In England the south of the country is expected to bear the brunt of the unusually cold weather conditions for this time of year, according to the Met Office.
Its medium term forecast warns: "Temperatures potentially much colder than average in the south, particularly the south east, where showers could be wintry for a time, but likely milder across the north.
"The end of the period will most likely see another period of unsettled weather, with spells of rain and some strong winds crossing all parts of the UK, with drier and brighter interludes.
"Temperatures are expected to be at or slightly below average for this time of year by the end of the period (the end of March)."
The Met Office warned of snow in the south east by Friday while parts of the North of England were already blanketed in the white stuff over the weekend.
The Weather Outlook forecaster Brian Gaze said: "It will feel more like winter than spring, with polar air expected in coming weeks.
"Snow could settle, particularly in the south east from Friday, with -5C lows in the second half of the week."
The Environment Agency has issued flood warnings for five areas although the only one remaining in place on Monday morning was the warning for the River Burn between South Creake and Burnham Thorpe in Norfolk.
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This means flooding is expected and immediate action should be taken while a further 25 flood alerts are in place across the country.
The downturn in weather conditions comes with forecasters warning of travel disruption and power cuts.
Met Offices figures show this winter has been the coldest in eight years since the chilling 2012-13 season. The average UK temperature from December to the start of March was 0.21C below average at 3.51C.
Bookmaker Coral has cut the odds to 2-1 on snow falling in any major city in the UK in the next week, while it is just 1-2 for the wind speed to reach as high as 100mph on the UK mainland before the end of the weekend.
The firm's John Hill said: "Although spring is nearly upon us, we may not be done with the snowfall just yet.
"Temperatures are set to drop again so we have cut the odds on snow falling in any major UK city over the next seven days."
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