By Chris Brooke
For children looking forward to the Christmas holidays, it's a thrilling forecast.
But for parents who are having to combine commuting with frantic shopping for the forthcoming festivities, it may be less welcome.
Snow could start falling today - heralding a week of cold and wintry weather, say the weather experts.
The Met Office believes the Midlands and eastern areas are likely to be hardest hit by the arrival of wintry flurries over the next few days.
The prospect of December snowfalls comes after one of the wettest Novembers on record, with downpours causing widespread flooding and chaos.
While there are no predictions of large-scale disruption at the moment, forecasters believe there could be some heavy snow showers on Thursday and Friday.
With December 25 fast approaching the odds of a white Christmas are being cut.
However, the Met Office insists it's too early to know what will happen on the day.
Paul Knightley, forecaster at MeteoGroup UK, said it was 'not out of the question' that parts of the UK could see a white Christmas with either snow on the ground, or snow falling on Christmas Day.
He said that this possibility was 'probably less likely than likely'.
Shortage?: Salt for gritting the roads is piled up at the Salt Union mine in Winsford Cheshire last Thursday
But a combination of wintry showers, raw winds and plunging temperatures is set to send a chill through the country this week.
The Met Office predicts 'some heavy snow showers' in eastern counties on Thursday and Friday.
Daytime temperatures on Friday will creep just above freezing and drop down to -4c at night.
Commenting on the general picture, a spokesman said: 'As always the hills are likely to get most of the snow but lower down don't be surprised if you see quite a bit of snow as well.'
If the cold snap continues towards Christmas there are fears for salt stocks to keep roads clear in some parts of the country.
Half of local authorities have salt stocks to deal with iced-up roads that would last just six days of continuous freezing weather, according to the AA.
The organisation's president Edmund King said he had sought assurances from the Local Government Association there would not be a repeat of the February snow chaos on the roads.
He said local authorities' reliance on supermarket-style 'just in time' deliveries left too many of them vulnerable.
Mr King said: 'Around 1,000 people are killed or seriously injured on snowy and icy roads each winter and hospital casualty departments are often inundated with people who have slipped and fallen.
'Investing in ice and snow clearance, to save elsewhere down the line, makes total sense.'
source: dailymail
For children looking forward to the Christmas holidays, it's a thrilling forecast. 
Shortage?: Salt for gritting the roads is piled up at the Salt Union mine in Winsford Cheshire last Thursday
The organisation's president Edmund King said he had sought assurances from the Local Government Association there would not be a repeat of the February snow chaos on the roads. 
