Met Office forecasters warn overnight frost will blanket the nation as the UK is in the grip of chilly blasts of cold northern Scandinavian air with Britons told to brace for potentially “hazardous conditions”.

It means a cold chill may bite through to the start of next week as daytime temperatures struggle to get above single digits and overnight temperatures stay below freezing for much of the country.

The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for snow and ice from 5pm on Tuesday until 11am on Wednesday for parts of northern and eastern Scotland, north-east England and Yorkshire.

A separate warning is also in place from 5pm on Wednesday until 11am on Thursday for eastern Scotland and north-east England down to North Yorkshire.

Met Office spokesman Oliver Claydon said: “We’ve already had the coldest night of the season so far with -7.7C (18.1F) recorded at Shap, Cumbria, on Saturday.

“Temperatures over the coming nights could come close to this. This is the longest cold spell of the season so far.”

Maximum daytime temperatures will struggle to reach 4C (39F) to 5C (41F) in London and 3C (37F) in northern cities such as Manchester and Leeds.

Up to 2cm of snow is possible in some northern and north-east regions overnight from Wednesday into Thursday, with 5cm over higher ground.

The Met Office added: “Wintry showers will lead to ice forming on untreated surfaces during Tuesday evening and overnight into Wednesday morning.

“Snow will begin to accumulate, especially away from windward coasts, with 1-3cm possible. Higher routes of north-east Scotland may see up to 5cm of snow accumulate.”

Roads and railways could be hit, meaning travellers could face longer journey times by road, bus and train – with the Met Office also warning of icy patches on untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued a yellow cold-health alert for the health sector covering northern regions of England which runs to December 5th.

The Met Office said the cold spell is likely to continue into next week but many places will see dry, sunny weather while wintry conditions and showers could particularly hit eastern coastal areas.

The forecaster explained that snowfall in late autumn or early winter does not generally linger – especially in southern Britain – as ground temperatures broadly remain relatively high after the summer.

The mercury in London is expected to fall below 0C (32F) every night until at least the end of this weekend, with overnight lows of -3C (27F) on Friday and Saturday.

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But it is unlikely southern England will see any snow this week, with the Met Office’s Neil Armstrong saying: “There is a reducing chance of snow for southern areas of the UK, although there is still a chance we may see some sleety wintry showers over higher ground in areas such as Dartmoor or Exmoor.

“Northern and north-eastern areas of the UK in the moist north / north-easterly airflow continue to see a chance of snow or sleet.”

RAC Breakdown spokesman Rod Dennis said the service is expecting to see “a sharp rise in breakdowns this week” as the nation is in the grip of the cold blast and car batteries falter.

He urged drivers to get their cars checked and to bring some winter gear on their journeys in case they get stuck in sub-zero temperatures.

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