WATCH: Snow shower hits Portsmouth this afternoon

Temperatures have barely been above freezing this week with snow forecast to reach the area on Thursday.

But the city has seen some early falls of snow showers this afternoon.

The snow could be from the nicknamed ‘Beast from the East’, an icy weather front from Siberia.

Portsmouth City Council will be having the gritters on standby ready to clear main roads and bus routes.

The winter maintenance plan has been implemented following a cold weather warning from the Met Office.

In the case of heavy snowfall, once priority roads have been cleared, Colas will try to manually or mechanically clear other roads.

Councillor Simon Bosher, cabinet member for transport, said: ‘We are expecting a very cold weather so are preparing for this by following our winter maintenance plan and starting to grit the roads.

‘I would urge drivers to take these conditions into account and drive safely.’