Scotland will be hit by brutally cold winds surging from Iceland next week, bringing some snowfall as we head deep into winter.
BBC forecasters have warned of a significant drop in temperatures, sharp frosts and an 'uptick in cold winds' coming from Scandinavia.
People are bracing themselves for a pre-Christmas ice blast as thermometers could plummet to -12C in central Scotland.
Between November 22 and December 1, Scotland will see wintry conditions after a mild start to the month as a 'cold pattern looks to be in the cards', according to BBC weather.
Scotland will be the first part of the UK to experience freezing temperatures. It is expected from next Wednesday onwards, blanketing Scotland's higher ground.
BBC weather's forecast for the month reads: "After a brief period of mild weather late this week, a surge of colder Icelandic air will spill across the UK over the final ten days of November and linger into the first few days of December.
"The most prominent drivers of this pattern will be high pressure in the Atlantic and a trough over Continental Europe."
"A secondary push of colder Icelandic air is expected to arrive during the latter half of the week, which will further drop temperatures.
"Sharp frosts may occur during some evenings late in the week. A few spells of rain showers and even some patchy snow showers may feature as part of this secondary cold push, mainly in Scotland, which may also experience an uptick in winds as the week progresses."
Met Office UK five-day weather forecast
Today:
Rain across northern and western Scotland, heavy on hills. Elsewhere, cloudy in the south and west with a little drizzle at times, especially over hills, whilst sunny spells develop in the east. Very mild, especially parts of eastern Scotland.
Tonight:
Rain persisting across north and west Scotland, becoming heavier then moving southeast later. Mostly cloudy ahead of this, with some light rain/drizzle in the west and clear spells in east.
Saturday:
Band of rain moving south, reaching Wales and the Midlands by evening. Dry, mild and often cloudy ahead of this. To the north, sunny spells, scattered showers and noticeably colder.
Outlook for Sunday to Tuesday:
Largely dry at first with some sharp overnight frosts in the north. On Wednesday rain will sweep south introducing colder weather to the north with showers turning wintry here later.
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