Britain is set to bask in balmy 19C heat - but a bitter "polar plume" could bring snow for Mother's Day, forecasters have predicted.
Britain is set to cycle through all four seasons this weekend, with Saturday pushing the mercury in southern parts, before snow is expected to arrive in northern, hilly areas just in time for Mother's Day on Sunday and the start of official British Summer Time (BST).
Dramatic maps show an Arctic blast is in store with snow bound our way from Greenland as a a 700-mile wide 'polar plume' looks set to bring a Mother's Day shiver.
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The chill blast is set to come after a prediction of 19C 'Super Saturday' sunshine set to to sweep the UK's south tomorrow - hotter than even 14C Melbourne, in Australia.
A dramatic weather map from Weather Outlook showed cold air arcing to Britain from Greenland as BST begins Sunday with snow flurries threatening in the North on Mother's Day and on Tuesday, with gales following.
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'Shivering Sunday' sees highs of just 7-11C for most.
Met Office maps also showed the jet stream steering cold air south from Greenland to Britain.
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England and Wales are set to be mostly warm and sunny on Saturday apart from a few showers in the southeast, the Met Office forecast says.
Cloud and light rain in southern Scotland is expected to move in to northern England, with brighter and cooler weather to follow.
Most places will stay dry overnight Saturday, although some parts can expect patchy rain, Met Office forecaster Alex Deakin said.
"It will be turning colder with the nighttime frosts becoming more widespread - gardeners: Take note of that," he added.
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“After a 'Super Saturday' with lots of sunshine for the South, it's a 'Shivering Sunday' to start British summertime as cold air filters in from their Greenland,” The Weather Outlook forecaster Brian Gaze added.
“Snow is possible in wintry showers in the North.”
A Met Office forecaster said: “Sunday will feel colder, with a frosty Monday with wet and windy weather in the North.
“Tuesday's showers have some sleet and snow over hills in the North.
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“The period is most likely to remain unsettled, with showers heaviest in the North and wintry over hills, with overnight frosts likely.
“It will also become generally windy, with gales possible, especially towards the North-West.”
The Met Office forecast says Monday is due to be "cold, frosty and bright" with wet and windy weather headed for the northwest later on, turning into sunshine and April showers on Tuesday.
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The hottest spring since records began is on the cards as the Met Office backed a much-hotter-than-normal three months until June.
A much warmer-than-usual March to May is five times more likely than much cooler conditions, the Met Office said.
'Well above average' temperatures over spring – a category which includes 2011 and 2017’s hottest springs since records began - is a 50 per cent probability, compared to 10 per cent for 'well below average' temperatures.
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The Met Office three-month forecast said: “For March-May, the probability UK average temperatures will fall into the warmest of our five categories is 50 per cent. The coldest category is 10 per cent.”
The Weather Outlook forecaster Brian Gaze said: “With computer models strongly favouring a warm spring, there is potential for the record for the hottest spring to be challenged.”
