Weather: UK braced for one of winter's 'coldest weeks'

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Image captionSnow-covered peaks in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park in Stirlingshire

Yellow weather warnings for snow and ice are in place for large parts of the country for Sunday evening and the rest of the week, the Met Office said.

Commuters are being warned of possible disruption, with many set to wake up to freezing conditions on Monday morning.

It is expected to be "one of the coldest weeks of this winter so far", Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said.

Temperatures could plummet to -7 C in parts of Scotland, Wales and the Midlands.

That would make it colder than Stockholm and Toronto.

Ice is likely to form overnight on Sunday along the east coast, the Met Office said, bringing potentially difficult driving conditions on Monday morning.

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Up to 3cm of snow could fall inland, mainly over hills above 100 metres, while many will start the working week to freezing temperatures between 0 C and -2 C.

"It's going to be a cold week, plenty of dry weather around, but many places will probably see some snow at some point during the week, but for a lot of us not really amounting to much at all," Mr Snell said.

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Image captionSnowdrops at Rococo Garden in Painswick, Gloucestershire

The Local Government Association said 1.5 million tonnes of salt was stockpiled ready.

"Gritters will be out treating thousands of miles of roads as the big chill bites and councils will be keeping people up-to-date about weather forecasts, road conditions and gritting activity," said transport spokesman councillor Martin Tett.

Mr Tett encouraged people to be "on the look-out" for vulnerable and elderly neighbours, who may need assistance in the cold weather.

On Monday evening through to 15:00 GMT on Tuesday, there is a chance of snow and ice for the north of England, northern Ireland, north Wales and Scotland.

"Quite a lot of the UK will see some snow as we head through Tuesday but as it ventures into the Midlands, south-west England and eventually later in the day across south-east England, it's just going to be a few flakes," Mr Snell said.

"Don't expect to build a snowman."

The cold snap is expected to last until next weekend, with milder weather on the way the following week.