The Met Office has issued a dire forecast for the UK, predicting a sharp drop in temperatures with the mercury potentially plummeting to minus 20C in the north on Friday night. Ice warnings have been put in place across most of Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as vast regions of eastern England, lasting until 10am Friday.
Wednesday saw temperatures dive to minus 12.4C in Inverness-shire, with Scotland’s lower valleys expected to see between minus 12C and minus 16C on Thursday night. Meteorologist Liam Eslick said: “It’s going to be another cold couple of days, and recovering into the early part of next week.”
He warned that “Anywhere across the UK is likely to see those temperatures dipping below freezing and likely to see quite severe frost and ice to form overnight tonight.”
READ MORE: Meghan Markle ‘finally embracing her authentic self’ in 2025 comeback
Furthermore, freezing fog is set to blanket central and south-east England along with parts of Wales overnight, which may be slow to dissipate on Friday morning, “could be quite stubborn to clear” according to Mr Eslick, yet areas where the fog lifts should enjoy some sunshine.
Devon and Cornwall might experience cloudiness and rain showers as a front encroaches from the south-west, with snow possible on Dartmoor and Exmoor. Northern Scotland and perhaps the extreme north-east of England are also on alert for snowfall.
Mr Eslick added a cautionary note: “Because that rain is falling on some pretty cold ground, it is likely to turn to icy conditions as well. So, we are telling people to take care if you are travelling around with these cold temperatures for tomorrow, but at least it’s quite settled and away from that freezing fog it will be nice, bright and sunny”.
The coldest night of the current cold snap is expected on Friday in parts of Scotland and northern England, with temperatures potentially dropping to between minus 15C and minus 20C.
Mr Eslick commented: “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.”
As Monday approaches, the weather will gradually warm up. Mr Eslick noted: “Saturday is still going to be another cold one, unfortunately.”
However, he said that incoming clouds from the west should prevent temperatures from falling as quickly. The meteorologist continued: “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”.
Wintry conditions have swept across the UK causing chaos for travellers, with multiple rail lines shutting down. Manchester Airport was forced to cease operations on both runways “due to significant levels of snow” on Thursday morning, although services have since resumed.
Transport for Wales also took the step to close some railway tracks as a result of damage from “heavy wind, rain and snow”. School closures were rampant, with hundreds in Scotland and about 90 in Wales not opening their doors on Thursday.
The icy weather is sticking around, leading to calls for drivers to stay on main roads which are more likely to be salted. RAC has revealed an unprecedented demand for breakdown assistance, marking the most hectic period since December 2022.
Meanwhile, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has decided to prolong the cold weather health warning across England until the forthcoming Sunday. Amber weather warnings remain in effect, signalling a likely increase in weather-related deaths, as per the agency’s latest notifications.