A SHORT cold spell could bring snow this Easter bank holiday pushing away the milder weather we have been enjoying so far this spring.

The cold weather is expected to last from Friday through to Saturday.

Met Office Chief Meteorologist Frank Saunders said: “Bands of showery rain will continue to cross the UK today (Thursday) before cold air from the north pushes across the country on Friday.

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“A cold front will bring a band of rain and blustery conditions for many and there will be a marked drop in temperatures, with some places seeing a fall of 5 or 6 C between today and Friday. There will be some wintry showers in places with some lying snow possible at times over hills further north.”

However, according to the Met Office Oxford will be enjoying sunny spells early next week with highs of 19C on Tuesday before it plummets back to highs of 11C on Thursday ready for what could be a chilly bank holiday.

A cold and snowy Easter is not unusual for norther areas of the UK.

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The coldest Easter weekend on record is 2013 when -12.5C was recorded at Braemar in Aberdeenshire, Scotland on Easter Sunday.

The deepest snow recorded on an Easter weekend was in 2010 when 36cm was measured at Strathdearn, Invernessshire, also in Scotland on Good Friday.

While the wettest was in 1991 when 108.7mm of rainfall was recorded at Seatoller, in Cumbria on Easter Monday.