TEMPERATURES are set to plunge in Worcestershire over the coming days – but the county is expected to escape the snow and extreme conditions predicted for some parts of the UK.

The mild new year is set to come to an end over the next 24 hours, with night-time temperatures plummeting to -2/-3C and widespread frost expected, said weather expert Frank Hill, of Malvern.

Daytime temperatures will also be noticeably more chilly, struggling to get above 4C.

Northern parts of the UK are being warned to brace for snow and temperatures as low as -15C.

Mr Hill is not predicting anything like that for Worcestershire, but said people should wrap up warm for a return to more normal winter weather.

“I don’t think that we will be getting a severe outbreak of cold weather, just colder than what we have been having,” he said. “Over the rest of this week and the first half of next it will be getting a good deal colder but not to levels much more than you would normally expect for the time of year.

“At present there is no forecast of snow but if the cold air settles in and it continues on into the end of next week then you can never rule it out.”