UK weather forecast: Snow hits UK on one of the coldest October days in a decade

Parts of Britain woke up to thick snow as the country experienced one of the coldest October days in a decade.

The mercury struggled to get up to double figures on Saturday as a cold snap hit, with most places recording highs of just 6C to 8C in the afternoon.

The crisp autumn day marked one of the coldest in October for a decade, with snow falling in parts of northeast England and Scotland.

Heavy snow fell in parts of County Durham and North Yorkshire, as people who headed out early found their cars covered and frozen.

A postman wearing shorts was pictured trudging through thick snow while out delivering post near Consett, County Durham, while dog walkers wrapped up and braced the chill in nearby Greencroft.

Temperatures are expected to remain chilly throughout Sunday and Monday, but the cold weather should improve from the middle of the week onwards.

Met Office forecaster Helen Roberts told the Independent: “It’s a sunshine and showers story Saturday and certainly a cold story. Saturday is likely to be the coldest of the two days this weekend for most and actually will be one of the coldest October days for the last decade.

“There will be particularly cold temperatures, really struggling even to get into double figures. We’ve seen some snow across northern parts of Scotland and northeast England and some sleet and snow across the Peak District and Welsh mountains. That will become less of a feature as we go through the rest of the day.”

Saturday night is expected to see some showers across eastern and southern parts of the country, while western areas will stay largely dry.

With clearer skies on Sunday it is expected to be another cold day – although not as chilly as Saturday.

“It’s a chilly start to the day on Sunday and there will be the odd icy patch around where there have been showers,” said Helen.

“There will be more sunshine on Sunday and it will feel less cold with slightly higher temperatures and lighter winds. Any showers will be mostly rain but there could be a little bit of hail in the North. There will be further snow and showers over the Scottish hills and you couldn’t rule out some snow on higher ground elsewhere.”

It will be another frosty start to the day on Monday with lots of sunshine around, but the weather is likely to become more changeable from the middle of the week onwards.

Temperatures will be higher, gradually creeping up by a degree each day.

Parts of the UK have enjoyed unseasonably warm conditions this autumn, with some places seeing highs of over 20C.