An ‘arctic plunge’ is set to hit the north-east, bringing temperatures in Aberdeen down as low as -4c next week.
The latest forecast from the Met Office shows snow is expected to hit the region next week as the mercury drops.
In more sheltered, isolated parts of Aberdeenshire and the Highlands, the temperature could even drop as low as -7c.
Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said: “From early on Sunday we’ve got an arctic plunge, which will be feeding air from a straight northerly direction across Scotland and then across the UK.
“That will be bringing temperatures down significantly. In some parts of the UK we will temperatures coming down 15c, compared with what we’ve got at the moment.”
The change in temperatures is not likely to be as drastic in the north-east, as temperatures here have not been as high as elsewhere in the UK.
Grahame added: “On Monday we’re expecting temperatures in Scotland to be mid or low single figures during the day.
“In populated areas, we’ll see temperatures down to freezing levels quite widely. In Aberdeen, we could see temperatures down to -4c, something like that.”
He added: “Snow showers, there will be frequent wintery shows, mainly above 200m, but as the cold air really begins to really come in in earnest we could see those getting down to sea levels in some locations.”
The snow is likely to last for some time and could well be heavy, however, the extremes seen earlier this year are not expected to happen again, but some areas could see accumulations.
Road surfaces are not expected to be impacted too much by snowfall, but areas of grass and vegetation could well see snow settling as it’s not likely temperatures will rise enough for it to melt away easily.
The forecaster expects the cold weather to be with us until the end of next week and possibly beyond.