Arctic blast attacking the UK sees temperatures plummet to -2C TODAY as families wake up to near-frost and summer becomes a distant memory
Britain had its first preview of winter today as Arctic air swept in with temperatures plunging below zero, a patchy frost and snow falling on Scottish mountains.
Britain had its first preview of winter today as Arctic air swept in with temperatures plunging below zero, a patchy frost and snow falling on Scottish mountains.
The mercury fell to -2C (28F) in the Highlands this morning, while Yorkshire dropped to 1C (34F), Cumbria to 2C (36F), Worcestershire to 3C (37F) and Devon to 4C (39F).
Daytime temperatures will be 4C to 7C below average for the time of year today, with Glasgow only getting to 12C (54F), Manchester 13C (55F) and London 16C (59F).
The Met Office said today would be chilly and rather breezy with sunny spells and showers across the North and West, and hail and thunder possible in the South.
Showers will linger across northern and eastern coasts tonight, with light winds and clear spells elsewhere leading to a cold night that will bring patchy mist and frost.
Overnight temperatures are expected to fall further tonight (right) compared to last night (left)
Temperatures could plunge below freezing again tomorrow morning, but it will then be a mostly dry day with plenty of sunny spells and feeling warmer by the afternoon.
And the mercury will be closer to average for the time of year by this weekend with dry and sunny weather expected for many places along with highs of 20C (68F) in the South East.
Met Office meteorologist Clare Nasir said it was cold outside with showers this morning, adding: The reason why we have both is because the position of the wind.
Its coming in from the Arctic, dragging in very cold air and then flowing over a relatively warm sea.
The air becomes unstable and thats the reason why we do have showers which will develop inland through the next 12 hours.
She continued: It is chilly. Weve even seen a touch of grass frost in the South and a touch of air frost in the north across one or two glens of Scotland.
But Ms Nasir added that high pressure towards the west was casting an influence across the country through Thursday into Friday, which would reduce wind speeds and change the distribution of the showers.
Looking ahead to tonight, she said: Well see some starry skies - any showers again tending to fade away, particularly inland. Across the far north of Scotland, the wind direction does change and we lose the sting in the wind.
But temperatures really taking a tumble through the early hours of Friday morning, so expect a frost in the north particularly in the countryside - and even some isolated frost further south in the towns and cities.
Temperatures dipping as low as around 2C or 3C so it is a cold start to the day. So wrap up warm if youre heading out. At least though its a quiet morning with some sunshine.
Temperatures will range from 13C (55F) to 17C (63F) tomorrow, but by Saturday they will hit 20C (68F) in London, 18C (64F) in Manchester and Cardiff, and 17C (63F) in Edinburgh and Belfast.
