Back again after weekend

WINTER will bite back with more snow and icy blasts next week after temperatures rise this weekend.

Forecasters warn that The Big Freeze will briefly release its grip after a blitz of snow that turned much of Britain white.

But the respite will be “short-lived”, experts said last night.

Lows of -5C are expected next week and an “even more intense blast” of snow and widespread frost threatens to throw the UK into yet more travel chaos.

This weekend temperatures will “still be chilly, but not as chilly as it has been,” said the Met Office.

The topsy-turvy weather will bring cloudy skies and highs of 6C to 7C today. Sunny spells could bring double digit temperatures to parts of the South tomorrow but this will not last.

And the weather will get wetter before things turn bitterly cold again.

Met Office forecaster Emma Sharples said: “The milder interlude is likely ® to be brief. There are signs it will turn colder again from the middle of next week.”

Southern England will feel cooler than Scotland and the North thanks to warmer northerly Atlantic winds moving upwards.

The Weather Channel’s Eleanor Bell said: “After an interlude of mild weather this weekend, an even more intense blast of Arctic air could hit the UK from Wednesday next week.”

Temperatures are likely to be well below average for the next month, up to and including Christmas.

Met Office forecaster Steven Keates said: “After midweek, the weather becomes stuck in a rut, staying colder than average across December, up to Christmas.”

A cold weather health alert has been issued by the Met Office with Public Health England. The Government has a level three “severe weather action” caution in place.