The Met Office has warned the mercury could plummet as low as -7C in some parts of the UK next week, while the bulk of the population can expect to shiver through sub-zero temperatures.
A series of weather warnings for ice and snow will be in place from Sunday and could last until the end of the week.
About 1cm to 3cm of snow could accumulate inland, mainly over hills above 100 metres.
"It's going to be a cold week, plenty of dry weather around, but many places will probably see some snow at some point during the week, but for a lot of us not really amounting to much at all," said Met Office forecaster Craig Snell.
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"Probably one of our coldest weeks of this winter so far, but snowfall-wise, doesn't really look too disruptive at this stage."
Forecasters say ice will likely form overnight on Sunday from 2am to 10am along the east coast, bringing potentially difficult driving conditions.
Although sunny, temperatures will feel close to freezing in East Anglia and the South East.
Scattered rain, sleet and snow showers are expected in Kent and East Sussex on Sunday evening, before heading to London.
"Quite a lot of the UK will see some snow as we head through Tuesday but as it ventures into the Midlands, southwest England and eventually later in the day across southeast England, it's just going to be a few flakes of snow," Mr Snell said.
"So many people will see some snow but don't expect to build a snowman."
The cold snap is expected to grip Britain until at least next weekend, with the chance that milder weather may not arrive until the middle of the following week.