The coldest temperatures in 14 years could hit the UK tonight, the Met Office has said
Snow-covered parts of Scotland could reach minus 15C on Tuesday night. U.K weather forcast
Freezing temperatures and snow will continue for much of Britain this week because of cold Arctic air before “potentially disruptive” stormy weather lands over the weekend.
The last time temperatures dropped this low was in January 2010, when minus 22.3C was recorded.
A “cold plunge of Arctic air” has moved south across the whole country over the past few days, making it 5C to 6C lower than usual for this time of year, the Met Office said.
A Met Office spokeswoman said the low temperatures are also due to how long the cold snap has lasted.
She said: “Due to the prolonged nature of this cold spell, it will have been lasting for quite a few days.
A build up of snow, as well, just allows for the temperatures to get colder and colder and we don’t often see a cold spell last three to five days.
“The air is coming directly from the Arctic, so it is exceptionally cold air.
“It’s staying cold until Friday, and then looking further ahead into the weekend we’ve got some deep areas of low pressure pushing in, so a big change in weather type, and we could see some stormy conditions by the end of the week.
“The cold isn’t lasting right to the end of the week, but we have a very different type of potentially disruptive weather arriving.”
The weather is forecast to turn stormy on Sunday, she added.
More than 100 schools were closed in Scotland on Tuesday, while drivers faced difficult conditions thanks to the wintry weather across north-west England, including in Merseyside, Cheshire and Cumbria.
Yellow weather warnings for snow and ice are in place across Scotland, much of northern England and parts of North Wales until Thursday, then more mild temperatures are forecast along with wind and rain.
