HEAVY snow is forecast for tomorrow - expected to arrive at the worst possible time.The Met men say the snow could hit Ipswich and east Suffolk during the morning rush hour as thousands of people make their way to work and school, making it treacherous on the roads for drivers.

HEAVY snow is forecast for tomorrow - expected to arrive at the worst possible time.

The Met men say the snow could hit Ipswich and east Suffolk during the morning rush hour as thousands of people make their way to work and school, making it treacherous on the roads for drivers.

Forecasters say the cold snap is set to last until the end of the weekend when the milder temperatures we have all become used to this winter will return.

Police are warning drivers to plan their journeys carefully and to take extra care on the roads when the snow comes, and Highways Agency officials urged people to only travel if journeys were absolutely necessary.

People are also being advised to make sure they are prepared with warm clothes, food, water, boots, de-icer, a torch and spade, particularly for long journeys.

Last night temperatures plummeted to minus seven degrees Celsius (20F) in Ipswich, and as low as minus 11C in Easton, near Framlingham - the coldest night of the winter so far.

Evening Star weatherman Ken Blowers said we should be prepared for up to four inches of snow tomorrow as wet, basically mild weather from the south west is hit by the cold Arctic air currently over East Anglia.

“It will probably arrive here just before the rush hour or even during the rush hour - and it will make the roads extremely bad and very slushy and slippery,” said Mr Blowers.

“The snow will then turn to sleet. More wet and wintry weather is expected over the next few days and the cold snap will probably last until the end of the weekend.

“Last night was the coldest night of the year and the coldest night of the winter so far.”

Parts of Suffolk were turned into picture-postcard scenes yesterday as a belt of snow swept down the coast - leaving an area from Aldeburgh to Wickham Market covered in snow.

County council gritters were out last night salting the roads with the sharp frost beginning to form from early evening.

People woke to a white wintry world with cars and lawns covered in frost.

Nationally, the cold snap is expected to cause widespread disruption. Around six inches of snow could fall in south and Mid Wales tonight and tomorrow morning with up two inches predicted for London - the worst snow in the capital for a few years - and southern England.