the corner but winter is set to prove it's not over yet in the next 24 hours with an icy blast of six hours of blizzards hitting the UK. According to the spring will officially start on March 20, but just days before, much of the country will be held in the grips of a freezing band of weather stretching from London to Inverness.

New maps from WXCharts show snow patches covering the Highlands in Scotland, much of the north east of England and parts of the Midlands down into Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire. The outskirts of Greater London might even get a flurry as the snowy weather arrives from midnight on Thursday, March 13, and continues into

The Thursday forecast said temperatures were likely to hover around 2C to 3C for much of the nation.

A statement from the weather body said: "Frost clearing to leave another chilly day with sunshine and showers, the showers most widespread across central, eastern and far northern parts of the UK.

"Some western areas largely dry."

Despite the last gasp of winter affecting many this week, the country will welcome hopefully warmer weather in a matter of days when spring finally arrives.

Explaining the changing of the seasons, the Met Office said: "Spring in the meteorological calendar is the season beginning in March and ending in May.

"Astronomically, spring typically starts on the day of the vernal (or spring) equinox which falls around the 20 March in the Northern Hemisphere. The equinox refers to when the sun's path crosses the equator and the day and night are of equal lengths lasting around 12 hours each.

"The beginning of spring can be one of the most recognisable transitions between the seasons as the days begin to lengthen and the temperatures warm.

"Sometimes without even knowing it we often define the seasons phenologically. This refers to biological indicators, most notably the blossoming or emergence of certain plants, or the activities of certain animals.

"The very origin of the phrase vernal equinox also alludes to this with 'vernal' coming from the Latin vernus meaning bloom."

Today:

Showery rain will clear southwards from southern England and Wales, with patchy frost clearing elsewhere to leave sunshine and showers across the UK. Northern Ireland and western Scotland will be sunniest. Showers turning locally heavy and wintry. A chilly breeze.

Tonight:

Showers will continue to affect many eastern and some northeastern areas overnight, wintry in places. Elsewhere mostly dry with clear periods, allowing a frost to develop. Some icy patches too.

Thursday:

Frost clearing to leave another chilly day with sunshine and showers, the showers most widespread across central, eastern and far northern parts of the UK. Some western areas largely dry.

Outlook for Friday to Sunday:

Another day of sunshine and showers on Friday, some of the showers wintry on the hills. Fewer showers, with a lot of fine weather over the weekend. Some overnight frost.