A MET Office map has revealed where up to 12 inches of snow will fall in a matter of days.
A three-day yellow warning for snow has been issued for almost all of England and Wales and parts of Scotland this weekend.
The forecaster warned that rural communities could become cut off.
Schools could potentially be closed and there is a chance of power cuts and road closures as well as delays and cancellations to flights and trains.
A yellow warning is in place from noon on Saturday until 9am on Monday and covers all regions of England other than the South West, the majority of Wales and parts of southern Scotland.
About 5cm of snow is expected widely across the Midlands, Wales and northern England with as much as 20-30cm over high ground in Wales and/or the Pennines.
Thursday will otherwise be fine and dry for most although the temperature will feel much colder than the true mercury figure.
The chill will continue into Friday.
With the end of the week comes the threat of overnight ice extending south as far as the South West of England.
Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said: “At the moment we’ve issued a very large snow warning for Saturday until Monday but it doesn’t mean that everywhere within that warning could see snow, it’s just a heads-up there could be some impacts.”
Marco Petagna, senior Met Office meteorologist, said: “Most roads will be treated, there’s a chance on untreated roads that ice will still be an issue.
“On Friday I think we will see further snow and ice warnings issued.”
An ice warning is in force for much of the UK today as temperatures dropped after a major incident was declared due to flooding.
The yellow Met Office warning indicates there could be some difficult travel conditions across Scotland, northwest England and Northern Ireland until 10am on Friday.
A snow and ice warning is also in place covering northern Scotland as rain turning to snow is likely to lead to some travel disruption and difficult driving conditions.
Two new flood alerts were issued just prior to 6am on Thursday with river levels peaking for both the Lower River Wharfe system in Yorkshire and Lower River Ure waterway in North Yorkshire.
According to the Met Office, this is how best to prepare for oncoming snow
Preparing to drive in snow:
Driving safely in snow:
Preparing for being cut off by snow:
Staying safe if isolated by snow:
Coping with a power cut:
It comes after a major incident was declared in Greater Manchester on Wednesday after flooding forced homes to be evacuated and closed train lines and roads following heavy rain.
Mountain rescue teams were deployed to help Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service deal with damaged properties and stranded vehicles.
Around 450 people were evacuated on Wednesday evening from a Didsbury hotel while 400 homes were at a lower risk with no widespread evacuation needed.
Residents were also evacuated from a block of flats in Meadow Mill, Stockport.
