UK snow: Horror moment 400-mile wall of snow barrels in from the Atlantic - new maps

The maps, from WXCharts, show a massive band of snow sweeping into the UK from the Atlantic with long range predicitons from the Met Office hinting at the possibility of snow over Christmas

Weather maps have shown a wall of snow set to engulf the UK in the coming weeks, with long-range forecasts predicting piles of the white stuff.

The charts, from WXCharts show a massive band of snow sweeping into the UK from the Atlantic in the middle of next month.

The long-range prediction shows the swathe of wintery weather covering the whole west coast of Britain and completely covering Northern Ireland on the morning of December 14.

The predictions come after the recent cold snap which swept across many areas, with the Met Office issuing yellow weather warnings for snow and ice in various regions.

The latest charts show that the UK could be hammered by snow for 48 hours, with Scotland forecast to be blanketed in snow from midday on December 11 - 8cm is predicted to fall in one hour near Inverness.

As much as 13cm per hour could fall in northern Scotland. Major cities including Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Cardiff set to turn white, as well as Belfast in Northern Ireland.

We could be seeing wintery weather over the Christmas period, according to the long-range forecast from the Met Office, which calls for “a risk of snow” between December 13 and 27.

“Across the south of the country, high pressure is signalled to be prevalent through the second half of December,” the forecast said. “Less settled weather is more likely at times though, especially across the north and west. This means wetter and windier spells are possible with a risk of some snow, especially across northern hills.

“These weather systems are expected to move fairly promptly, with settled spells developing between them, with settled conditions perhaps becoming UK-wide. As a result of these, frost and fog will be notably present where skies clear overnight. Temperatures generally close to average through the period, or slightly above in areas which are wet and windy.”

In the short term, the weather is set to remain cloudy across northern and western parts, with outbreaks of rain slowly edging eastwards, the Met Office said. Conditions are expecte to be drier and brighter further south and east, with spells of hazy sunshine but it will feel cold in the east, with mild and breezy conditions in the west.