Residents in west Suffolk are gearing up for the possibility of snow overnight on Boxing Day, as wet weather and cold temperatures could turn to sleet and snow.

Temperatures overnight are expected to be as low as minus four or minus five, with temperatures still as low as freezing by dawn on Saturday.

Chris Bell, forecaster at Weatherquest, said: “We are going to have a very wet night. There’s a lot of rain to come in from the west, and it’s possible we could see some of that turning into snow and sleet, but it is going to be cold everywhere.”

As the wet weather progresses further east throughout the night, the chances of snow are likely to become more marginal.

As the prolonged spell of cold weather sweeps across the region, the chance of ice and hard frosts will be here to stay, with the possibility of sharp frosts and icy patches continuing up to Tuesday.

Chris Bell at weatherquest added: “There’s a potential for ice over the next few days, and there will continue to be a chance or wintery showers tomorrow, Sunday and into Monday.

“It’s our coldest spell of the winter coming up.”

You can keep track of the weather over the weekend with the Weatherquest podcast on the East Anglian Daily Times and Ipswich Star home pages.