FORECASTERS are warning that Britain should brace itself for a spell of snow.

The Met Office has said that temperatures are expected to plunge from the middle of this week and Greater Manchester could be affected.

A spell of frost is expected to hit on Friday, with overnight temperatures plunging to -2C. And a band of rain could bring with it a chance of a white out.

A Met Office spokesman said: "As we head towards the later part of January it will turn colder, but there's still a lot of uncertainty in that forecast about where any snow will fall.

"The week beginning Monday, January 21, there is a stronger signal of it getting colder, that would increase the risk of snow across the UK."

Forecasters warned last week that the same weather patterns which sparked the Beast from the East - and brought freezing temperatures and heavy snow last winter - could return this year.

The Met Office said sudden stratospheric warming had appeared around Christmas, when there was a sharp increase in the temperature over a couple of days.

When this happens in the Arctic it can lead to a rush of cold air blowing eastwards across Europe a few weeks later, bringing much cooler temperatures to the continent.

The Met Office said this is what caused the Beast from the East early last year - an icy blast of freezing Siberian winds which brought freezing temperatures and heavy snow to much of the UK.