There have been many references in the media to the UK having an Indian summer this week, with temperatures expected to reach 20 °C. However, as forecast by the Met Office many of us woke up today to rather grey, misty and drizzly skies and although temperatures are well above average for the time of year, it certainly doesn’t look or feel summery outside for most of us. We have also seen widespread mist and fog overnight across England and Wales, which the Met Office warned for over the weekend, and further foggy conditions are expected for the next couple of nights.

Visible satellite image from 0900 22 October 2012

So are we going to see any sunshine at all this week? Well, yes, the cloud should break in some places, and we may even see temperatures rise to the high teens along the south coast of England at times, but these temperatures will be short lived.

For most of us it will be the end of the week before the sunshine returns and when it does the weather will be far from warm.

By Friday, much colder air from the Arctic will spread across the UK, bringing drier and clearer weather but much lower temperatures. In fact, daytime highs will struggle to reach double figures by the weekend and there may even be a few wintry showers across north-eastern parts of the UK. It will be cold and frosty overnight too and for many of us this will be the first cold snap of the season.

In this video, Deputy Chief Forecaster Baden Hall explains exactly what we can expect over the next few days.

The latest information about the weather and warnings can be found on the Met Office website, iPhone and Android apps and on twitter. Cold weather can also have an impact on people’s health and you can find out more on the Met Office’s Cold weather and health web pages.