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Will the UK see snow next week?

A West highland white terrier with his legs covered in snow. His owner wearing Wellington boots also covered in snow.Image source, Getty Images
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Much colder weather is predicted to be arriving next week

From next week much colder weather is predicted to be arriving across the UK.

Weather experts are saying it will bring with it frost and ice.

There have also been some predictions for snow across parts of the UK, however, other forecasters have warned that it is too early to be certain.

So here's what we know.

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But will we be waking up to snow?

Former Newsround presenter Alex Humphries who now works for 91热爆 weather said: "Don't believe everything you see online - it is so hard to forecast snow more than one or two days in advance.

"Any slight change in temperature could make all the difference and we could see rain or sleet instead," said Alex explaining that everywhere will be colder, thanks to Arctic air from the north.

Alex says higher ground in Scotland is most likely to see the white stuff, but "some parts of the UK could get snow to lower levels on Monday and Tuesday, it will get windy too. Further south, it looks more like rain."

Why is it so hard to predict snow?

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91热爆 Weather鈥檚 Ben Rich explains what factors may turn raindrops into snowflakes on a cold day.

Three things you probably didn't know about snow

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Did you know these facts about snow?

1. It doesn't have to be freezing to snow

In most cases the air temperature will be at or below freezing for snow to fall, but if rain falls continuously through air with a temperature as high as 6 掳C, it could cause the air temperature to fall low enough for the rain to turn to snow.

2. The speed of snow

Most snow falls at a speed of between 1 - 4 mph depending on the individual snowflake's mass and surface area, as well as the environment it's falling in.

3. The Inuit language has 53 different words for snow

Recent studies suggest that the dialect spoken in Nunavik, Canada, has many more words for snow than in English. The language uses different words to describe different kinds of snow, for example 'pukak' to refer to crystal-like snow that looks like salt; 'matsaaruti' meaning wet snow to ice a sleigh's runners; and 'qanik' to refer to falling snow.

Source: The Met Office