Brits are set for a -5C Arctic blast with snow falling at two inches per hour due to.

There is no end yet to the wintry as after a milder start to March the temperatures are set to plummet with a low pressure system moving in from the Atlantic.

And the cause of the and ice is coming from a sudden stratospheric warming event which will hit the UK by Saturday March 15. From there temperatures could drop as low as -5C while nearly all the country seeing the mercury below 0C.

Maps from WXCharts show that the exact date as March 17 when we could see two inches of snow falling an hour in the evening with the worst affected areas in northern England and southern .

The polar vortex is essentially a swirling mass of very cold air that sits above the Earth's poles. When it weakens, it can cause the jet stream to become more erratic, potentially allowing icy Arctic air to sweep southwards.

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These changes are notorious for triggering heavy snowfall, extensive blizzards, and a sharp decline in temperatures, fuelling speculation about an imminent bout of severe weather.

And the has predicted: "The stratosphere polar vortex is now weakening rapidly. Over the last few days, the forecasts have become very confident and we are almost certain there will be a sudden stratospheric warming in mid-March. This is when the mid stratospheric wind is predicted to reverse from westerly to easterly."

While its forecast from March 10-19 also says that temperatures are expected to be below normal for the time of year. It states: "Cloudy with outbreaks of rain in places on Monday, the rain easing and clearing southwards during the course of the day. Clearer weather with sunny spells and a few coastal showers will follow from the north. These clearer conditions will become established across the whole of the UK by Tuesday as high pressure builds from the northwest.

"This will lead to fine and dry conditions for many through the rest of next week, although a few showers are likely along coasts. Temperatures will likely be below normal. Through the following weekend and into the week after, conditions may slowly become milder and more changeable with some unsettled spells bringing periods of rain and strong winds."

The outlook though for the end of March is for more milder weather to return although it will be unsettled. "Confidence is low, but through the remainder of March changeable weather patterns are most likely," says the national weather agency. "This means periods of unsettled, wet and windy weather interspersed with some drier and brighter spells. Into early April, there may be a transition to drier and more settled weather. Temperatures will probably be above average overall."