Britain is bracing for at least three days of heavy snow and bitterly cold winds, as temperatures across the country start to plunge to below freezing. 

Latest weather maps show that snow will move in across the Atlantic, with some places expected to receive more than 10cm. 

Maps produced by Meteociel show that parts of Wales could get as much as 17cm of snow by Tuesday January 16.

The Met Office has issued yellow ‘be aware’ weather warnings for Scotland and Northern Ireland until Wednesday, urging residents to brace for “blizzard conditions”.

The Met Office’s chief forecaster said: “Showers will be accompanied by hail and lightning at times, particularly across northern and western Scotland. 

“Here in particular there is potential for disruption to power supplies from frequent lightning strikes. 

“Strong winds are also expected, with the potential for temporary blizzard conditions and drifting of lying snow, particularly over high ground.”

The snow and ice alert is due to come into effect at 6pm on Monday January 15, lasting until 11am on Wednesday January 17.

“Frequent and heavy hail and snow showers are likely to affect many parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland from Monday evening, continuing for much of the day on Tuesday,” The Met Office warned. 

“Travel delays on roads are possible, with a small chance of cancellations to public transport. There is a small chance that power cuts will occur and other services, such as mobile phone coverage, may be affected. 

“In addition some roads and pavements may become icy, increasing the chance of injuries from slips and falls.”

Areas covered by the warning include: Central, Tayside & Fife, Grampian, Highlands & Eilean Siar, Orkney & Shetland, South West Scotland, Lothian Borders, Strathclyde and Northern Ireland. 

Weather maps from WX Charts show that some parts of the UK can expect between 1-2cm of snow per hour from Monday through early Wednesday, with a fresh batch of snow possible on Friday.

James Madden, forecaster for Exacta Weather, said that it has been years since the UK was hit with such a barrage of icy weather. 

He said: “We are about to go into another period of very cold weather and once again it is worth pointing out that we may have to go back a few years to the last time we experienced anything of this stature or potency.

“The weather is likely to impact travel and school closures on a notable scale next week and we could be looking at a notable and lengthy spell of widespread snowy weather.

“Westerly winds will clash with colder air from the north later this weekend bringing some widespread and heavy snow showers across some large swathes of the country.

“On current indications we are looking at another a potent wintry blast.”

Temperature maps show that the mercury is set to plummet to well below zero for much of the UK by Tuesday evening. 

Coldest areas will be in Scotland, northern England, and Northern Ireland.