After a week which saw much of the country bathed in glorious sunshine, the weather is set to turn sour once more with temperatures expected to plummet and even snow on the horizon.
Forecasters at the Met Office have warned that the Lake District, North Pennines and Scottish Highlands are most at risk of winter flurries.
Although last week the mercury hit a record-breaking 29C in central London, bookies are slashing the odds on snow falling this month.
“Towards the end of the week it is certainly possible that the cold weather will include hail, sleet showers and snow, especially on higher ground,” said Met Office meteorologist John West.
“The areas most at risk are the Lake District, North Pennines and Scottish Highlands, but we are not expecting a big impact.”
He said May will start with unsettled weather, although it should not be a particularly wet month.
The latest cold snap comes amid news the Beast from the East that brought heavy snowfall to Britain also cast a chill over the economy over the first quarter.
Experts at the EY ITEM Club are predicting that gross domestic product (GDP) could be cut in half from 0.4% in the fourth quarter to as low as 0.2% when the Office for National Statistics reveals data on Friday
“The severe weather seen at the end of February and the first half of March appears to have weighed down significantly on economic activity at the beginning of the year.
“The EY ITEM Club expects that GDP growth in the first quarter of 2018 was dragged down to around 0.2-0.3% quarter-on-quarter,” the Item Club said.