Four UK areas - two in Scotland, one in England and another in Northern Ireland - are bracing themselves for an Arctic blast that is to hit the UK in a matter of days, bringing with it snow and freezing temperatures.

Brutal UK WXCHARTS weather maps have turned deep red and purple, indicating snow and rain are to hit Britain, with temperatures to take a plunge too.

On Friday, December 6, Scotland, the North East of England and Northern Ireland will all receive a dumping of the white stuff, according to the forecaster.

The Scottish Highlands looks set to be almost covered by a blanket of snow with up to two cm per hour predicted at midnight on Saturday, December 7.

Elsewhere in Scotland, Dumfries and Galloway, Strathclyde, and Lothian could see four cm of snow per hour fall.

On Wednesday, December 4 at midnight, Scotland is forecast to once again be covered in snow, and key cities including Inverness and Glasgow look likely to receive a hammering of the white stuff. However, Edinburgh could just miss out on catching a glimpse of snow.

England won't miss out on catching a glimpse of the snow as the North East is predicted to receive a maximum of two cm per hour.

Northern Ireland is predicted to get two to three centimetre per hour of snow.

The Arctic blast will bring icy weather to the north, Scotland and Northern Ireland - yet the south will miss the freezing wall and will see instead temperatures up to 10 degrees warmer than in the rest of the country.

The North West and North East will feel the chill, with temperatures of zero to three degrees predicted.

In Northern Ireland, temperatures will reach one degree at midnight on Saturday, December 7.

However, those in the South West could see much milder temperatures of around 10 degrees, whilst those in the capital will see temperatures reach a moderate six degrees.

In the Met Office's weather outlook for next weekend, the forecaster is warning that a "spell of wet and windy weather is expected to impact many areas for a time into the coming weekend".

It added: "Colder, showery and windy conditions then following for the remainder of the weekend."