BRACE yourself. For the first time this winter, it's going to get rather cold.

Experts say freezing weather, already affecting much of the rest of the country, will reach the South today.

The time has come to rummage in your underwear drawer for that elusive pair of long johns that warms your partner's heart - and make sure your mother-in-law wears hers too.

Forecasters put the temperature plunge down to a cold front streaming down from the Arctic Circle.

This is set to put the country in the ice box until New Year's Day.

Yesterday, a few snowflakes fell in Southampton.

Today it could settle.

Over the past months, we have got used to balmy, if soggy, weather conditions as the warm fronts from the West poured down record levels of rainfall.

The resulting floods have caused millions of pounds worth of damage, not to mention heartache to thousands of homeowners in Hampshire and elsewhere across the country.

This has thrown Mother Nature into all sorts of confusion.

Primroses and daffodils have pushed their way through the soil under the illusion that it is already spring.

Horticulturists in the South are now being forced to protect their early blooms, amid fears that the coming cold snap from the North could wipe them out.

A spokesman said: "We can't say whether this is an example of global warming, but the seasons are very odd at the moment.

"This is the first time in 50 years anyone can remember the shoots appearing this soon before spring."

And farmers have been coping with long nights of lambing several months too soon. There is danger that the chilly weather can kill premature lambs.

"The very cold weather will stay with us for the rest of the week, with temperatures in most places staying freezing," said a spokeswoman for PA WeatherCentre.

"At the moment there is a cold front streaming down from the Arctic Circle, but things will be starting to turn milder on New Year's Day."

Drivers could also be at risk from ice on the roads in the next few days, she added.

Despite the fact that no rain is forecast, it is likely that water left from floods earlier this year can seep out and freeze over.

Gritting trucks will be out and about on Hampshire's main roads, and the police and AA are warning motorists to take extra care.