SCOTLAND is expected to be covered in a "nice and pretty" light dusting of snow in the middle of next week as it is set to get "noticeably colder".

Forecasters do not expect the snow to cause any disruption and believe temperatures will climb again by next weekend.

With temperature highs of 13C in parts of Scotland yesterday, people will notice a significant drop as Tuesday will bring highs of between just 4C and 6C.

Freezing temperatures of between zero and -3C are expected "quite widely" on Tuesday night.

Rachel Vince, a senior forecaster at MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said people will find that it will get "noticeably colder".

She said the cold snap and risk of snow would be caused by cold air coming down from the Arctic, and the areas at risk of snow were Scotland, the east coast of England, west Wales, south-west England and Northern Ireland.

Ms Vince said forecasters were not expecting the snow to cause problems: "It'll just make it nice and pretty."