The snowy Siberian blast dubbed “The Beast from the East” is set to send temperatures plummeting down to -5°C in Royston tonight, with a Met Office yellow weather warning in place.

Temperatures have been as low as -4°C in daytime, with temperatures set to stay below freezing up to the weekend.

The Met Office snow warning is set to end for our area tonight, as the arctic blast moves west. It advises that heavy snow showers are expected, with the potential for travel delays on roads and the railways.

The warning states: “Some rural communities could become cut off. Power cuts may also occur and other services, such as mobile phones, may be affected.”

The Met Office says there’s a 40-per-cent chance of snow in the next hour in Royston, though this drops to a 10-per-cent chance from 3pm.

Further snow is unlikely until Friday night, when there is a 50-per-cent chance.

Cambridge is set to come under a yellow warning for snow and ice again on Friday, and another yellow warning for ice the next day.

There is a 60-per-cent chance of snow there in the next hour, thought that drops to 40-per-cent from 1pm and 10-per-cent from 2pm. There is then a 30-per-cent chance for snow in Cambridge from 6pm to 8pm tonight.

There could be snow tomorrow lunchtime or on Friday night in Cambridge, with the Met Office listing a 50-per-cent likelihood in both cases.

The Met Office has announced amber weather warnings for much of Scotland and northern and eastern England. There is a red weather warning – the most serious – in place today and tomorrow for Scottish cities including Edinburgh and Glasgow.