Wintry conditions caused by an Arctic blast from Scandanavia could see temperatures drop to -7C on Friday night before the bitter spell makes way for much milder but wetter weather next week.

After a week of below average temperatures, the start to the final stretch before Christmas may feel somewhat tropical in comparison with the mercury expected to rise above 10C by Monday with possible highs of 13C.

But the Met Office says the reprieve may only be 'temporary' as long range forecasts point to more extremely cold weather possible for December.

The freezing conditions, which meant a lengthy cold weather alert remained in place over most of England, will continue to make Friday night very icy, warn forecasters. According to latest Met Office predictions overnight temperatures in Kent could be between -4C and -7C.

But by Saturday the mercury will begin rising thanks to a low pressure system sweeping in from the south bringing much warmer air.

While for a short time this could cause some snow showers over England as the warm moist air hits the bitterly cold Arctic weather that has gripped England and Scotland - prompting a yellow weather warning for Sunday - eventually things will warm up causing any remaining snow and ice to melt with chances that it will be replaced by heavy rain.

Chief forecaster Paul Gundersen said: "Over the last week, the UK has been held in a northerly airflow bringing cold, sometimes Arctic air, to the UK. We will still have this northerly influence to our weather patterns until the weekend, but then the cold conditions will lose exclusive dominance over the UK’s weather patterns and we will move into a regime where relatively mild and relatively cold conditions will vie for supremacy."

While wetter weather is a heavy feature of the forecast for the days before Christmas, most likely ruling out the chance of a White Christmas in Kent, a break from the cold could be short-lived.

Paul Gundersen added: "We can expect changeable conditions with colder and milder air not too far away from our shores, but it does seem that the Atlantic ‘has woken up’ compared with recent days and will be a stronger influence, countering any further bouts of extreme cold conditions, although spells of further wintry weather remain possible through the rest of December."