YORK is bracing itself for a belated cold snap - and a possible fortnight fit for snowball fights.

Forecasters have predicted 10cm of snow in the North York Moors on Monday, with 2-5cm possible in York.

The icy weather follows a mild winter, with Church Fenton, near Tadcaster, hitting the headlines for enjoying the highest temperatures in England and Wales, with the warmest January for 15 years.

Snow slurries were expected to leave the region shivering today, with the promise of raw northerly winds, possibly gale force, blowing into tomorrow.

Joanne Grimshaw, of PA Weather, said the morning would start off frosty.

"The central area will stay dry with plenty of sunshine, but there will be hail and sleet towards the coast," she said.

"On Monday, most areas will start to get some snow because of the winds becoming more north-easterly. Temperatures will gradually get colder. The North York Moors could get 10cm of snow. Further inland, there is going to be less, maybe 2cm to 5cm."

Meanwhile, Green Flag is warning motorists to leave extra time for journeys and stock up their cars with warm clothing, de-icer, food, a torch and spade.

Green Flag spokeswoman Melanie Denny said: "The combination of freezing temperatures, followed by snow and rain, could make driving conditions particularly hazardous for motorists."

The weather warning comes as the Highways Agency revealed new research showing almost half of road users would drive despite the forecast, and only a third would carry a "winter weather kit" to see them through their journey.

Over a fifth said they would not check for weather warnings before setting out, and ten per cent said they would not listen for warnings on the radio when driving.

The forecasted cold snap would have to last much longer than two weeks to match the big freeze of 1947, when York and North Yorkshire endured two difficult months.

The River Ouse had frozen so thick it was possible to drive a horse and cart across it.

The snows left villages cut off, cost widespread shortages of fuel and food and cost many thousands of people their lives.

Sixteen years later, in 1963, Britain's coldest spell since 1740 hit North Yorkshire.

On the coldest night, 19 degrees of frost were recorded in York. The sea froze in the harbour at Bridlington. Swans had to be rescued from the River Foss; an oil tanker was stuck in the Ouse at Selby, and a cat at Bishopthorpe needed help when its tail froze to the corrugated iron roof of a building.

:: Winter snowfalls

December 1978 - Heavy snow hampered soldiers trying to evacuate 200 families from the worst flooding since 1947

January 1987 - The Evening Press reported how deaths had risen by almost 2,000 during the winter cold snap

March 1988 - Snow drifts and strong winds blocked roads and hit motorists across the county. The northerly wind gusted almost to gale force and whipped the snow into drifts three to four feet deep on the Wolds

February 1991 - Yorkshire prepared itself for the worst icy grip in four years

January 1993 - Roads were closed and rail links disrupted across North and East Yorkshire by a treacherous mixture of snow and ice

November 1993 - Siberian storms caused a spate of accidents in North Yorkshire, including two bus crashes.

Amateur forecaster Bill Foggitt later predicted Yorkshire could be entering a new mini-Ice Age

February 1994 - Up to a foot of snow fell in parts of North Yorkshire, causing 83 road accidents in one day. York walkers later defied freezing winds and at least two inches of snow, with Yorktour, Yorkwalk and Yorkspeed keeping to the daily schedules

Updated: 09:45 Saturday, February 19, 2005