THE recent cold snap is set to give way to heavy rain and strong winds as Storm Diana hits the UK this week.

The Met Office has this morning said the week ahead, starting today, will see “a marked change” from last week’s freezing temperatures as wet and windy weather sets in from the west.

A complex and slow-moving area of low pressure will dominate the weather scene over the Atlantic into the new working week, bringing a change to wetter and windier weather across from Tuesday.

Gales of up to 60mph could be seen over western parts of the UK, with heavy rain, although the storm is expected to move through relatively quickly.

The national weather service said of Glasgow’s outlook on Tuesday: “It will be a bright start, but it will become cloudy with outbreaks of rain and hill snow pushing in from the west during the afternoon and early evening. It will start feeling cold in strengthening southeasterly winds, with the maximum temperature just 7 °C.

“From Wednesday to Friday, the outlook will be wet and windy at times on Wednesday, with coastal gales - perhaps severe at times.

“It will then turn more showery on Thursday and Friday, these heavy and frequent at times.”

Storm Diana has been named by IPMA (the official Portuguese Meteorological Authority) because of its expected impacts in the Azores on Tuesday.

Diana will then merge with the established Atlantic low pressure area, helping to maintain the unsettled weather over the UK through midweek.

Deputy chief meteorologist, Dan Harris, said: “It now looks very likely that we will see a major change in the UK’s weather early in the week ahead.

“We expect spells of wet and windy weather to sweep across the UK from the southwest from Tuesday although, at the moment, there is uncertainty around the timing and the focus for the heaviest rain and strong winds by Wednesday as Storm Diana approaches our shores.”