UK weather maps turn purple as snow falls as far south as Wales and Manchester

Large parts of northern England and Wales could see snowfall in days just as Spring begins, new weather maps suggest. Forecast data collected by WXCHARTS.COM shows the flakes falling across a large area north of Manchester from midnight on April 4. The weather maps suggest areas around the city all the way up to Scotland, and the Lake District could get snow, with rain affecting some areas too.

Scotland will have snow cover in southern parts of the islands, as well as precipitation over other parts, like the capital Edinburgh. The northern half of Wales could also be in for snow, while rain pelts other areas of the UK including Birmingham and the whole of Northern Ireland.

The forecast indicates by 6am active snowfall may be continuing in parts of Scotland, but easing off in the rest of Great Britain, though some snow cover could remain.

By 6pm a small patch east of Manchester could be the only area with snow cover south of the Scottish border, the maps indicate.

The Met Office's current long range forecast, which covers Sunday, Mar 30 to Tuesday, April 8, predicts the end of March "will likely see a transition from unsettled conditions to predominantly dry weather with drier conditions gradually spreading in from the south, though how quickly this transition occurs is less clear and it may well be that the start of the period sees some further rain in places".

Into the first week of April, "settled weather is expected to cover much of the UK", with most places "expected to be dry with clear or sunny spells and light winds", the national weather service adds on its website.

"Some periods of unsettled weather could develop at times and if this happens any rain or showers are most likely to affect southern areas," it continues, adding that temperatures "will likely be close to normal overall, though some cold nights are possible at times".

The Met Office's forecast for today suggests it will be dry for many with "plenty of warm sunny spells, once any morning mist and fog clears".

However, cloud and outbreaks of rain are expected to move into northwest Scotland and Northern Ireland later.

Tonight it's forecast to be windy in the northwest "as rain slowly moves southeast", the government agency says.

"Cloudy in the south and west with patchy drizzle over hills. Clear spells elsewhere, with mist and fog patches by dawn."

Tomorrow (Thursday) cloud and rain is expected to continue to sink southeast, "becoming heavy and persistent later".

"Ahead of this, mist and fog clearing to leave a dry day with some sunny spells."

You can find the latest Met Office forecasts here.