Time to book a holiday! Ice, frost and freezing temperatures on the way

PA

It was just a week ago that Brits made the most of a heatwave by packing out beaches, seaside resorts, and parks across the country, but this weekend will tell a different story - as the first of winter's frosts sets in.

The unseasonably hot Indian summer set October temperature records of 29.5C, but temps in some parts of Britain could reach 3C this weekend.

There is one reprieve before the onset of teeth-chattering temperatures - with Wednesday supposedly hitting a balmy 23C in southern England.

Met Office forecaster Tim Thorne told the Daily Mail: 'It will be breezy and there will be a few showers for the next few days but it will still remain fairly warm in the South and mild in the North and Scotland.

'However, by the weekend, instead of weather from the Atlantic there will be winds coming in from Iceland and the North East, so things will get a little bit chillier.'

Brits have been warned that this winter could see temperatures plunging lower than the -20C we saw last year.

Forecaster James Madden, from Exacta Weather, told The Sun: 'I expect the most frequent and heavy snowfalls to occur across many parts of the UK during November, December and January at present.

Mr Madden predicted: 'It is likely that temperature and snowfall records will be broken.'

But in an effort to reassure Britons that we won't see the same scale of travel chaos as last year, the Department of Transport has revealed that the country's stock of snow-fighting salt and grit is in excess of two million tons, its highest ever level.

Network Rail has also spent £40 million on heating and de-icing units to prevent rails freezing, which last year cause services across the country to grind to a halt.

And BAA, which runs six airports in the UK, has tripled the number of snow ploughs at Heathrow to 185.

Time to escape the UK! Check out our warm and sunny holidays for this month:

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