A wall of snow some 500 miles long looks set to cover parts of the UK in a few days' time, with depths up to 16cm in some spots.

One weather map generated by WX Charts on Tuesday (January 14) shows snow stretching from Wick down to Inverness, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Lincoln at 6am on Sunday, January 26.

Snow seems confined to northern Britain, with the heaviest over higher ground in the Pennines and Yorkshire Dales, where some 2cm per hour could fall.

Another weather map shows snow depths ranging from just 1cm around Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire up to 16cm in the Pennines at midday on January 26.

Wales, the Midlands, East Anglia and the South of England look set to escape a dusting entirely. People in the Isle of Mann, Down, Armagh and Tyrone could wake up to a winter wonderland though, with maps showing snow here. Snow looks set to clear northeastwards overnight into Monday (January 27).

While the weather maps show January 26 is set for significant snow, this looks like it will be the first time for several day as snow barely features on WX Charts' maps before then.

The weekend beginning January 25 looks as if it could be chilly and snowy, with minimum temperatures dropping as low as -3C in Wales, -1C in Scotland,—0C in Northern Ireland, and -2C in England.

According to the Met Office's long-range weather forecast, covering January 19-28, the UK will experience a shift from settled, dry, and often dull conditions to something more unsettled.

Later during that week, the forecaster anticipates spells of wetter and windier weather becoming more prevalent from the northwest to the southeast.

However, there is a very small chance of colder, drier, but perhaps wintry, easterly winds, according to the Met Office.

Netweather's long-range forecast shows that sunshine totals are below normal for most of the UK, but "probably" above what's usually expected in parts of northern Scotland.

Neither Netweather nor the Met Office mentions snow in their long-range forecasts for the period covered by WX Charts' maps. The Met Office has cautioned previously about relying on one model days ahead.

Met Office UK weather forecast

Wednesday, January 15 - Saturday, January 18

Headline: A lot of dry but rather cloudy weather. It will generally be milder.

Wednesday will be cloudy at first and remain grey across central and southern England, with hill fog and patchy drizzle. North and northwest Scotland will see rain, while some sunshine will develop elsewhere.

The outlook for Thursday to Saturday is for some rain and wind in the northwest.

Central and southern England, and at times Wales, will be mainly cloudy with hill fog and patchy drizzle. It will occasionally be brighter elsewhere. It will be mild in the north and colder in the south.