IT was a case of so close yet so far after snow failed to materialise in Dorset after all on Wednesday.

After days of anticipation and weather experts keeping a close eye on the forecast, precipitation ended up a few miles to the south of the coast instead.

Bournemouth-based weather enthusiast Jay Bournemouth said: “The models predicted this low pressure heading into the Bay Of Biscay towards north France with heavy snow on its northern edge.

"As we started comparing radars to models closer to the event, hope was building as we suspected that the low pressure was slightly north than forecasted.

“This was the reason why we saw the precipitation just 5-15 miles to our south. Any other nudges north could've given the south a proper decent snow event.”

UK Extreme Weather said: "In the end it came down to watching the radar are seeing how it behaved, it was remarkable to watch it skimming the English Channel coastline and a 20-40 mile push north would have seen a very different day for Dorset, it’s hard to say how much snow we could have seen, but a fair guess would be 2-5cm’s widely with 5-10cm’s locally and in some spots probably more."

He said we will see unsettled weather from Sunday, January 21, with potential for strong winds through early next week, gusting between 50 to 60 mph.

For several days the country has been in the grip of a cold plunge of Arctic air.

Last night temperatures were set to feel like a very chilly minus 8C. Temperatures are set to start climbing over the next few days and will reach 12C by Monday.

However, wintry weather isn’t done with us yet.

Jay Bournemouth said a sudden stratospheric warming is currently underway putting pressure on the polar vortex.

He added: “Some accurate models have suggested a higher than normal likelihood of a Greenland blocking to occur during February, which will also increase the likelihood of snow and cold weather."

UK Extreme Weather said: "As we head into February there certainly is the chance of bringing colder weather in again and throughout February we could see further cold spells."

Dorset's Weather Spotter said: "Looking ahead there are more opportunities for snow , winter isn’t done just yet."