Weather forecasters lift the lid on claims Britain 'to face 66 hours of snow' this month

Forecasters have responded to claims Brits should brace for 66 hours of snowfall in the coming weeks.

The Met Office acknowledges it will get significantly colder by mid October, with daytime lows of around 5C expected in Cumbria and the Scottish Highlands.

The mercury may even dip below freezing in the early hours across parts of Scotland but widespread snowfall is unlikely, forecasters say. Jim Dale, a senior meteorologist for British Weather Services, said: "If anything it'll be just the mountain tops and even then only fleeting."

Weather maps, issued by forecasters at Ventusky, show there will be a dusting of snow on around Monday October 14 and Tuesday October 15 across Scotland. It'll be extremely light, and most likely across the Scottish Highlands and Aberdeenshire.

But it won't be widespread, despite a huge drop in temperatures. Monday's high of 18.6C in Manston, Kent is a stark contrast to the single digits likely from around Saturday October 13.

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The Met Office's long-range forecast reads: "The wettest conditions, relative to average, are likely across England and Wales, while it may become rather windy for a time across the north and northwest of Scotland early next week, where it will also turn colder. Later in the period it may become more widely drier across northern areas, as colder conditions then become established more widely across the UK."

And, for the period of Tuesday October 15 to Tuesday October 29, the service says: "Confidence is rather low through this period, but a general continuation of recent weather patterns is most likely, with areas of low pressure bringing wet and perhaps windy conditions across central and southern UK in particular, with the best of any longer drier spells likely in the north or northwest.

"That said, occasional drier spells are possible more widely as higher pressure builds for a time, bringing the chance of fog and frost at night. Temperatures will tend to be close to average overall in the south, but likely below average in the northwest."