UK weather maps have revealed that most of the country could be battered by snow in a matter hours - just days before Christmas.

WXCharts has forecast wintery weather to hit the UK tomorrow (December 22), bringing with it snow, rain and low temperatures.

Snow could fall across the west coast of the UK, in Scotland (Inverness, Glasgow), the north of England (Carlisle, Liverpool, Manchester), Wales (Conwy), and Northern Ireland (Belfast and Derry).

Rain is also on the cards across the south of Wales (Cardiff), the midlands (Birmingham, Norwich, Ipswich), the southwest (London, Canterbury, Brighton) and the southeast (Plymouth, Exeter).

Temperatures will be coldest in the north of England and Wales, between -1C and 1C. The Grampians and the Pennines will be the chilliest spots.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will sit between 0C and 2C and the Midlands and south of England will be between 1C and 4C.

The Met Office said of the period: "A cold and very windy day on Sunday with sunny spells and blustery, wintry showers. These tending to fall as rain into the afternoon. Feeling cold despite the sunshine.

"Turning milder during Monday and Christmas Eve with outbreaks of rain spreading southeast, and still windy. Drier in the south into Christmas Day although still rather damp in the north."

Christmas Day weather will be characterised by mild, cloudy conditions for most, with bits of drizzle in places and perhaps some more persistent rain in northwest Scotland.

This sets the scene for the next few days too, with an area of high pressure becoming established across much of the UK, probably centred over or just to the south of England.

The highest chance of rain and strong winds will be in northwest Scotland, with many other areas predominantly dry but rather cloudy, although more settled conditions may well extend to the northwest at times too.

Widely mild at first, perhaps exceptionally so in some places early on, but temperatures probably returning to nearer normal by early January. Throughout, any clearer spells overnight may lead to localised frost and fog.