The UK has experienced its coldest night of the winter so far, with more freezing temperatures on the way.
Overnight, Altanharra in northern Scotland saw temperatures plummet to a chilling minus 14C, according to the Met Office.
After Scotland endured a slew of yellow weather warnings for snow this week, alerts for ice have been issued across much of Wales, Northern Ireland, and large areas of eastern England, lasting until Friday afternoon.
The Met Office has said Friday will see “the start of a change to our weather” with milder temperatures “attempting to move in from the south west through the morning”.
But this is expected to only make “limited progress” and patchy rain, sleet and snow is expected across parts of South west Britain.
The forecaster added: “Amounts of snow are uncertain – probably small and confined to high ground, but there is a risk of icy surfaces in places. Much of the rest of the UK will have another dry and bright day but remaining very cold, with few freezing fog patches lasting all day.”
Friday night is set to bring the coldest temperatures of the current snap, with parts of Scotland and northern England facing lows between minus 15C and minus 20C.
Met Office meteorologist Liam Eslick said: “That’s probably the lowest limits that we’re … expecting, we probably don’t really expect many places to get close to minus 20C, but we could see one or two places that could just touch that mark overnight Friday into Saturday.
“Just because it’s, again, still conditions, it’s high pressure, not a lot of wind and under clear skies as well. Especially where there’s still snow on the ground across Scotland and northern England, that’s sort of a perfect scenario to see those temperatures just plummet from Friday night into Saturday morning as well.”
The weather will slowly warm as Monday nears.
Mr Eslick said: “Saturday is still going to be another cold one, unfortunately.” However he said that clouds from the west will keep the temperature from dropping too quickly.
The meteorologist added: “Sunday will still be a chilly one, but not as cold as what we’ve seen for today and for tomorrow.
“By Monday, we are expecting the temperatures to come back up to what we would expect for this time of year, which is around sort of 7C (or) 8C”.
Snow and strong winds have caused widespread disruptions across the UK this week. Hundreds of schools in Scotland and around 90 in Wales were closed as a result of the weather conditions on Thursday.
The same day, both runways at Manchester Airport were shut due to heavy snowfall but were later reopened. In Wales, Transport for Wales had to close several rail lines because of track damage caused by a mix of wind, rain, and snow.
As icy conditions continue, drivers are being advised to stick to major roads that are most likely to have been treated with grit.
Car insurer RAC reported the highest demand for roadside rescues in a three-day period since December 2022.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has extended its cold weather health alert across England until Sunday, with amber warnings now in effect until January 12.
The agency has warned of a likely increase in weather-related deaths.
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