TEMPERATURES are set to plummet and storms will move in as balmy autumn days come to a chilly end.

Rain and gale force winds will blast the UK in the coming days, with wet and wild weather predicted next week.

And the mercury will plunge from tomorrow as a cold front sweeps south, bringing with it cooler days and some overnight frosts.

Aidan McGivern of the Met Office said the weather has been mostly dry and bright in recent weeks.

However, an area of low pressure is moving in – and it'll bring much grimmer skies.

"Through the day on Saturday, many places will turn cloudier again and there'll be a few spots of rain," he said.

"By the end of Saturday, some wet weather pushes into Northern Ireland and Western Scotland.

"That then crosses the country."

He warned a new "low" will get "ever closer" after that.

"That low will send an increasingly strong south-westerly wind across the UK," he said.

"South-westerlys are usually mild and moist, but this one could contain some sub-tropical moisture.

"As a result, there's a risk of some very heavy rain in western parts of the UK – some impactful, wet weather from the start of next week.

"Also, the energy from that could cause some very strong winds from start of next week as that low edges even closer to north-western parts of the UK."

The mercury dropped close to zero in eastern England this morning, with 0.1C recorded in Marham, Norfolk.

However, in Merseyside town Crosby – 181 miles away on the west coast – residents awoke to a more cheerful 13C start.

ICY BLAST

But Brits across the country could shiver in snow by the end of the month.

A freezing polar vortex could blast in within weeks – bringing with it a 'white Halloween' for some.

Parts of Wales and Scotland could be blanketed by 6am on October 24.

And even southern coastlines could get a dusting in a "rare" forecast last seen in 2008.

Former BBC weatherman and Weathertrending meteorologist John Hammond said the Indian summer is coming to an end.

"These high-altitude winds normally intensify as we head towards winter," he said.

"An unusual weakening of the polar vortex may well have impacts on our weather later through autumn and into early winter.

BRITS TO SHIVER

“'Sudden stratospheric warming' events can sometimes lead the polar vortex to go into reverse, which can have dramatic impacts on winter weather and increase the chances of severe cold."

However, he reassured Brits that there's no immediate signs of a winter white-out yet.

“The last time that lowland southern Britain saw significant snowfall as early as October was in 2008 – a measure of how rare it is," he said.

Bookies believe this month could be the hottest October on record.

Jessica O'Reilly of Ladbrokes said: "The balmy temperatures and sunshine have seen the odds cut that this month is officially chalked up as a record breaker."

But they're also slashing the odds on wagers that snow will fall in a major UK city by the end of the month.

"We better make the most of any balmy temperatures because the end of October looks set to be a big freeze, so much so that we make it odds on for snow to fall this month in the UK," said Coral's Harry Aitkenhead.

"We make it a 2-1 chance that this winter goes into the record books as the coldest the UK has ever had."

We pay for your stories!

Do you have a story for The Sun news desk?

Email us at [email protected] or call 02077824104. You can WhatsApp us on 07423 720 250. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours

Click here to get The Sun newspaper delivered for FREE for the next six weeks.

Source: Read Full Article