UK weather: Arctic plunge sends temperatures tumbling to -5C as Storm Benjamin brings Polar winds

Freezing winds will bring widespread ice and frost while rural communities are warned to brace for snow.

After highs of 15C-plus since the start of the season, this weekend will usher a bitter early taste of winter.

Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said: “There is going to be a chilly, markedly changed feel to things, with temperatures lower than this week, and when we factor in the winds it is going to feel quite raw.

“As we go through Saturday, there is a reasonable chance that we will see some sleet and snow over the high ground in Scotland.

“Through Sunday, a weather system is going to push in from the northwest and it is going to be cloudier, wetter and with lifting temperatures, although Sunday morning will be chillier than Saturday with temperatures in some places several degrees below freezing.”

The cold snap will be boosted by Storm Benjamin hitting the North Sea to bring northerly winds in from the Arctic.

The storm, named by the French meteorological service earlier this week, will be unusually sluggish in its exit from the English Channel.

As it moves northeast of Britain, it will shift wind direction from westerly to a bitter northerly.

Burkill said: “Benjamin changes our wind direction, so as we go through Friday night into Saturday, we are going to end up with a northerly flow bringing cold, Arctic air across the country, and that is going to lead to temperatures dropping.

“Cold air will plunge southwards across most parts, and there will be brisk strong winds around because of Benjamin.

“It will be a chilly start on Saturday, and there could be some isolated pockets of frost where we get clear skies.

“So, with blustery winds and cold Arctic air it is going to feel cold as we go through the weekend.”

This weekend will be the coldest of autumn so far, and possibly since the start of the year.

Temperatures across Scotland and northern England will drop below freezing, hovering in low single figures further south.

Saturday will mark the start of the cold snap with an even more biting chill to hit on Sunday morning.

Snow is unlikely over low ground, but those higher up could see the first proper flurry of the year.

Jim Dale, meteorologist for British Weather Services and co-author of ‘Surviving Extreme Weather’, said: “Over the mountains, there will be some widespread snow over the coming days, and it might hang around for a bit.

“There is going to be a significant change in the weather, and it will feel colder across the whole country.

“A change to a northerly airflow will bring the first real taste of cold after the mild and settled weather and will be the coldest spell of autumn so far.”