AS we head into the winter period of the year, it has been reported that snow will be expected up and down the UK, however, for Somerset and much of the South West, that may not be the case.

Despite recent reports and an overwhelming amount of speculation, the UK's Met Office has confirmed that the chance of snow in Somerset is unlikely, despite the recent drop in temperature.

Forecasters say the change in the weather is a result of low pressure moving in.

The Met Office has however issued a yellow warning for parts of northern England and southern Scotland on Monday and Tuesday, with up to 20cm (around 8in) of snow possible on higher ground.

There is a small chance of up to 10cm (4in) of snow settling at lower levels, which could prove disruptive, forecasters said.

Tom Morgan, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said: "The really cold air is likely to arrive next week and there will be some snow in parts of the UK.

"It is fairly unusual in the south. It's quite early in the month for a cold spell such as this."

"There'll be a messy mixture of rain, sleet and snow."

Tom also warned that there will be "quite windy conditions, probably on Monday, in parts of the UK, but all areas will turn cold with wintry showers probably by Wednesday."

The cold front comes after weeks of mild, above-average temperatures and is likely to reach all parts of the UK by the middle of next week.

Grahame Madge, who also works for the Met Office explained how it is unlikely snow will fall in Somerset despite reports.

Grahame said: "It’s going to get colder over the coming days – it’s still pretty mild in the south but there is a cold front that will be sinking south across northern parts of the UK.

"There’s going to be some wintriness in the hills, for example, tonight and into tomorrow.

“That’s all at quite high levels – Scottish mountains, Lake District maybe.

“Then we get into our warning period for snow and ice.”