EARLY forecasts are suggesting Dorset could be set for a snow blizzard at the end of next week - but weather experts are erring on the side of caution at present.

We have not seen snow settling in the run up to the festive season for many years.

However, that could all be set to change before the turn of the decade.

The Global Forecast System, a worldwide numerical weather prediction system containing a global computer model and variational analysis run by the United States' National Weather Service, has suggested a major blizzard could land on southern England on Friday, December 13.

Twitter-based weather forecaster Dorset Snow said residents should be cautious before banking on snow falling from the skies in the next fortnight.

He was more confident in stating that temperatures are set to drop even further.

He said: "Daytime temperatures will be in single figures making it feel very seasonable, frosty nights are pretty likely too.

"It does, however (unlike this week) look more unsettled which will make the weather feel colder than this week and will bring a high risk of rain and wintry showers."

He added: "It is a similar set up to the system which bought snow last winter. A cold northerly feed and low pressure towards the south of the UK often brings the risk of snowfall, although borderline snowfall in this set up. "Yesterday morning's Global Forecast System op run shows a low pressure system sinking past the channel (often referred to as a channel low) and dumping up to 30cm of snow in the Dorset area.

"This run will almost certainly not verify, but it does give some hope for some wintry weather in the lead up to Christmas, which hasn’t happened in almost a decade.

"A mild winter has been forecasted, but with the recent model output maybe we could be on to a cold winter."