The warm weather will come to an end next week as forecasters warn a cold snap could bring some snow to Essex. 

The county's weather centre says today (Saturday) will be the final day of the nice weather, with highs of 18c expected in some areas. 

Cooler temperatures are expected in the coming days and with nighttime temperatures plummeting to 3c by the end of the week, forecasters say Essex may even see some wintry showers. 

The Essex Weather Centre tweeted: "The last warm day for a while, so make the most of the sunny conditions today.

"Highs of 18C, a few degrees cooler along the coast.

"Turning much colder next week, with temperatures falling below average and the chance of some wintry showers by next weekend."

The Met Office says cooler air will hit the UK on Tuesday, with the East of England and the north most likely to see some snow showers by the end of the week. 

Chief Meteorologist Paul Gundersen said: “Although the UK has had a good deal of fine and settled March weather in recent days, a change is on the way from the middle of next week with colder air spreading down from the north and the increasing likelihood of rain for most areas.

“With the influence of some unsettled weather, we’ll be seeing a marked drop in temperatures for most with colder air arriving from the north.

"This will see maximum temperatures drop into single figures for many areas, and below freezing overnight.”

The change in weather will at least diminish the risk of air pollution, with levels expected to be largely low from next Tuesday.

Earlier this week, a warning was in place across Essex due to 'very high' levels of pollution. 

People were urged to avoid busy roads and being outside at 'peak' travel times.

Looking ahead to April, temperatures are expected to recover to average levels in the first days of the month, which looks set to be “less settled” and more changeable overall, forecaster Craig Snell told PA.

“We are probably going to be back to what people generally expect the weather in the UK to be like, every day different”, he said.

“Most places will probably see some rain which some of us haven’t really seen a lot of this week”.