A snow storm turned Southampton into a winter wonderland for several hours.

Despite having the warmest climate in the UK, a cold snap over the last couple of days meant snow was on the cards.

With temperatures hovering just above freezing at 1C this morning (November 21), it finally materialised.

At around 8am, a few tiny snowflakes turned into flurries of the white stuff, covering cars on their morning commute and delighting children on their way to school.

Lasting several hours until midday, it came down heavily enough that it defied the odds and laid across gardens and rooftops in the city and beyond, crowning Southampton with white.

Sarah Sign shared a photo of her son with the Echo outside University Hospital Southampton, looking delighted by the snow.

She saud: "My boy enjoying a break from the ward! First thing that’s got him out of bed for three days! Hooray."

Naomi Meek said it was the first time her two babies had seen the snow.

She said: "Their little faces lit up. So although it may be stupid for others it’s magical for most."

Another mum agreed: "Same with my two boys [aged] six and eight.

"I'm 38 and I find it magical still. I'm a big kid when it comes to snow."

Amanda Maidment joked: "And I thought we had more chance of seeing flying pigs!"

Some residents even collected enough snow to create a mini-snowman and have snow ball fights.

Kayleigh Marie said: "Layla was so happy it was snowing on the morning school run, even if she did catch me off guard with a snowball to the face!

"She’s hoping for extra snow this evening so she can have a snow day tomorrow for her birthday."

Helen Mainwaring shared a picture of her 'raisin snowman' made from snow that fell on her recycling bin, much to the amusement of fellow followers of the Daily Echo Facebook page.

READ MORE: Southampton hour-by-hour Met Office forecast as snow falls

Snow falls in Southampton: live weather updates

Met Office issues two weather warnings

The mini-blizzard sparked two weather warnings from the Met Office: one for snow, which ended today, and another for ice which is in place from 5pm today to 10am tomorrow.

The roads coped well with the snow storm, although over in the New Forest a car skidded across Burley Road near Brockenhurst and flipped over onto a verge.

Police confirmed no-one was injured.

This was not the only instance of drivers facing difficulty due to the icy conditions.

Natasha Searle said: "We didn’t have the gritters out last night in Lordswood. Were they out at all in Southampton? I had to put breaks on and skidded slightly on a hill."

Norman Clinnick seemed to be taking the threat seriously, saying: "Take the buses off the road, put the safety of the drivers first."

Sadly for many, by lunchtime the clouds parted and the sun shone down, melting what was left of the wintry morning.

In fact, in the next few days Southampton will feel positively balmy by comparison - as the Met Office is forecasting highs of 14C.

However, it has also issued a warning for heavy rain over the weekend as Storm Bert is set to hit the city.

Some witty residents used the snow to made light of our collective obsession with the weather.

Mike Jones said on the Daily Echo Facebook page: "Omg the south is gonna grind to a halt a few flakes of now have fallen PANIC!!!!!!"

Richard Newman added: "PANIC STATIONS EVERYONE!!!! There’s a little bit of snow."

In response to some people not understanding what the fuss was about, Kiara Batten had the following reply: "Gosh. People. If you’re grumpy, just have a cuppa and scroll on by and let others enjoy a little bit of magic!

"Even if it doesn’t settle, even if it’s mixed with rain, even if it’s just walking in the snow with our kids on the way to school and watching them excited and trying to catch snowflakes on their little outstretched hands.

"Let other people be happy, there’s so little happiness in the world today."