A YELLOW weather advisory has been issued as the UK is expected to be whipped by white dust this week.

Winter rains are forecast as temperatures drop across the country.

Mercury fell to a terrifying -5.6C last night, before drivers braved the country’s icy roads on the first day back to work this morning.

Dog walkers in Consett, County Durham, woke up in a winter wonderland as others shivered with the cold scraping the ice off their windshields.

Bookmakers have lowered the odds that January will be the coldest in history, with more snow on the way.

The Met Office warned that more than 2 inches of snow would fall by Thursday.

There is now a yellow snow and ice warning for parts of the Northwest.

Forecaster Greg Dewhurst said: “This is a stark contrast to the record new year we just saw.

“We have seen a big drop in temperatures and it will stay that way for most of the week.

“That’s well below the January average of 6 ° C.

“We will see winter rains, mainly in the western part of the country, but we could also see some in the east.

“On Thursday, a new Atlantic weather front will move east, bringing rain and snow to the hills.

“It will affect the north and west, parts of the Lake District and Wales, but we could also see snow showers further south. “

Some of the snow is likely to turn to sleet and then ice as temperatures drop, potentially causing travel chaos.

Mercury could drop to -10 ° C.

It comes days after the hottest New Years Day on record with temperatures reaching 15.3 ° C in Lincs.

Coral, the bookies, now has January at 6-4 to be the coldest on record.

The company is going 2-1 to make this UK’s coldest winter of all time.

Coral’s John Hill said: “We have enjoyed some unusually warm temperatures for the season for the past few days, but that should come to an end by the end of this week.

“With the snow and freezing temperatures, we have cut in half the chances that this month will end in a record January. “