Met Office weather maps show 18 areas to face downpours on Wednesday — see full list

Weather maps show several parts of the UK are braced for heavy downpours this week. The latest projections from WX Charts indicate widespread wintry precipitation across Scotland and northern England on Wednesday as low pressure intensifies over the North Sea. Rain will even fall as snow on higher ground, but this won't be heavy or widespread. Maps at 12pm and 3pm on Wednesday show cold air will be firmly embedded across much of Britain. Additional forecasts from the Met Office also indicate rainstorms bearing down on the country, particularly across northern Scotland and the north and northeast of England. A Met Office forecast for Wednesday stated: "A mix of sunshine and showers across the UK. Some of the showers heavy with hail and thunder, even some wintriness over the Scottish mountains. Brisk and chilly northwesterly winds." Meanwhile, Tuesday's forecaster noted "rain in the north gradually clear south through the day. Sunny spells following with scattered showers in the north and northwest. Feeling chilly, especially in the brisk northerly breeze". According to WXCharts.com, the initial snow showers are predicted to arrive across northern Scotland by 6pm on Tuesday, 12 May, before sweeping south-east throughout the evening, reports the Express . By midnight, wintry outbreaks are anticipated across eastern Scotland and sections of northern England, most notably over elevated routes and exposed hillsides. Snowfall beginning on Tuesday (May 12) is forecast to persist until 12am on Thursday (May 14). Maps indicate it will commence in the Grampians at lunchtime, before pushing into west and east Scotland (Aberdeen, Fort William) by the evening. Come midnight, places along the west coast of Scotland and northern England, such as Dumfries, Kendal, Blackpool, could experience snowfall. By Wednesday morning, central Scotland, south-east Scotland, including Berwick, northern England, such as Manchester , York and Hull, and north Wales will also receive a dusting of the white stuff. The remainder of Wednesday is predicted to bring scattered showers across central Scotland, northern Scotland (Wick, Inverness), and north-west England. Throughout this period, rain will sweep across much of the UK, with the heaviest downpours expected on Wednesday afternoon. It is a contrast to the sunshine and balmy temperatures most of the UK has experienced recently. The Met Office recorded 16.1C in Exeter, Devon, on Monday, and Prestwick, South Ayrshire, saw more than 12 hours of sunshine. It was a similar picture elsewhere with 15.9C recorded in Killowen, County Down. There were more than nine hours of sunshine across Monday in Aldergrove, County Antrim.