Snow and rain say winter's on way

AS SCOTLAND braces itself for a new era of austerity it seems the weather is set to follow suit, with Arctic winds and snowfalls forecast to put a sudden end to a mild introduction to autumn.

• It's a chill wind ... a walker in Edinburgh's Meadows is well wrapped up. Coats and hats will be the order of the day this week according to forecasters Picture: Greg Macvean

Temperatures are expected to fall below freezing tonight as unseasonably cold autumn weather hits large swathes of the country.

Wintry showers are predicted for Scotland and along the UK's east coast with hail, sleet and snow on high ground.

Forecasters said snow could fall to a depth of around 2ins in the Highlands, Grampians and Western Isles with showers of hail and sleet due in Aberdeen and along the north-east coast of Scotland.

City dwellers will not escape the cold snap with temperatures today and tomorrow expected to drop to between 5C and 8C in Edinburgh and Glasgow - four or five degrees below average for this time of year. Tomorrow looks set to be the coldest day of the week and the most turbulent day weatherwise - with a mixture of snow, hail, rain and winds forecast.

Daytime temperatures are expected to fall to between 7C and 10C in the rest of the UK tomorrow. However, winds will turn more westerly from Thursday with unsettled, warmer weather on the way.

Billy Payne, forecaster with the MeteoGroup, said: "It is going to be pretty cold over the next few days as the winds turn round more to the north and low pressure moves away eastwards into Scandinavia.

"We are going to have some showers spreading from the north. Some of these showers could be wintry, most especially around the east coast and across Scotland, especially on high ground.

"We are talking about hail and sleet and some snow on the high ground, especially over the Scottish mountains."

Iain McMillan, director of CBI Scotland said that he hoped the predicted wintery weather would not deter people doing their bit to support the country's economic recovery.

"Even in bad weather life has to go on and it is time for everyone to square their shoulders and get on with life. We would never encourage anyone to take unnecessary risks in going out in really atrocious weather but we all need to all do our bit for the retail sector.Going to the shops or taking advantage of shopping over the internet can still be done no matter what the weather.

However, Gordon Scott, general manager, West of Scotland Snow and Sports Club, said those taking part in snow sports would welcome the prospect of another winter like last year which was the coldest in over 30 years.

"While snow at this time of year won't last and will melt and disappear we hope there will be a repeat of last season where we had people still skiing in the Cairngorms in June on the longest day.

"In view of the weather conditions in the previous season in 2009-2010, resorts in Scotland had a bumper season. Looking back it was the catalyst to an excellent time for those involved in the sport and we hope it continues."

But weather forecasters have been known to get it badly wrong with recent "oversights" including predictions of a "barbecue summer" in 2009 which turned out to be one of the wettest on record, and failing to predict last year's severe winter which left parts of the country immobilised.