THE Met Office has issued a severe weather warning with snow possible in Surrey and Hampshire on Thursday.

Rain moving eastward across the south of the UK on Thursday may turn to snow in places, although forecasters describe the likelihood of a white dusting as “very low".

However, there remains a small chance of snow settling with disruption to road, rail and air services, as well as interruptions to power supplies and other utilities.

Associated heavy rain and strong winds may prove additional hazards, and even if the south escapes snow, it will still feel bitterly cold with strong northwesterly winds.

Overnight frost will develop with temperatures likely to dip to lows of -1C on Friday and over the weekend.

A Met Office spokesman said: "If the area of heavy rain moves further north, this would pull cold air into the system and bring snow to parts of southern England and south Wales.

"At the same time heavy rain will likely persist in some areas along with the potential for some locally strong winds.”