Britain could soon be shivering in a repeat of the 1963 Big Freeze - the worst winter for more than 200 years.
One weather expert has warned Britain will be hit by an Arctic blast which is set to arrive over New Year and hang around for at least a month.

Some areas could be blanketed by up to five feet of snow with daytime temperatures hovering around zero and overnight lows down to a bone-numbing -15C (5F).
Forecaster James Madden believes the white-out will rival the famous winter of 1963 when the sea froze in Kent and a car was driven across the River Thames in Oxford.
He fears a “colossal” area of much colder than average surface water in the Mid Atlantic will affect the Gulf Stream and leave Britain exposed to a prolonged Siberian blast from northerly winds

James said: “ This is of quite some significance as the Gulf Stream effectively acts as a heat machine for our shores, in particular, during our winter months.
Giant waves hit the lighthouse wall in Whitehaven“Without the influence of this vital heat source, we can expect a horrific winter to develop with frequent blizzards/strong winds and extremely cold conditions across many parts of the country.
“During the winter period of 1962/63 the famous big freeze took a hold of the country from around Christmas until the spring of the following year because of a similar situation.
“Several feet of snow fell in parts of southern England, temperatures dropped to below -20C (-4F) in places, and snow remained on the ground for months on end.
“We could be looking at a very similar time-frame and scale of events this time around.
“I don’t like saying this but the factors are there for an extremely cold spell in January which will possibly extend into February.

Cold snap: An abandoned car is left by the side of the road on the Yorkshire and Cumbrian border following overnight snowfall 
 
The Exacta Weather forecaster said: “The south and west are likely to bear the brunt of the extreme conditions with double negative overnight lows in England and Wales down to -15C and daytime temperatures struggling to get above freezing.
“Snowfall will be significant with up to five feet in places and it is going to stay on the ground because of the low temperatures.
An abandoned car is left by the side of the road on the Yorkshire and Cumbrian border following overnight snowfall.“People should certainly be prepared - it’s really important to have enough fuel to heat your home.” 
The Met Office predicted a mixture of wet and windy weather mixed with colder dry spells for the remainder of the month.
But their forecast warned: “However, there is a signal that conditions may become colder particularly into the New Year, although there is a large amount of uncertainty surrounding this.”
The record for this year’s coldest temperature in Britain is under threat in Aviemore and Braemar in Scotland where the low was expected to dip to -9C (15.8F) - beating the -7.7C in Altnaharra, Scotland, on February 17.