Temperatures rose to below -22 ° C last night after an extreme frost. It’s the coldest night in the UK. Then the mercury fell to minus 22.9 ° C or minus 9.2 ° F in Braemar, Aberdeenshire.
Recorded as the coldest night temperature in the UK
Forecasters said the last time a temperature below minus 20C recorded in the UK was December 23, 2010. Weather warnings remain in place across Britain until late on Saturday, with snow and ice expected to remain. It may be causing possible power cuts. Not only that, the forecast predicts some light rain with scattered snow showers and some sunshine for large swathes of Britain over the rest today.
The Met Office said icy weather could cause travel interruption has been issued for the morning, covering the eastern half of Scotland and England, Devon, and south-west Wales. According to meteorologist Clare Nasir, as the snow clears towards the east through the morning, it could become “quite nice outside with the sunshine, although still bitterly cold” in western areas.
The latest fall in temperatures comes after Tuesday night when minus 17.1C (1.2F) recorded in the Scottish Highlands. It listed the coldest temperature recorded in the UK since January 2010, when the mercury dropped to minus 22.3C (minus 8.1F). Manchester and Carlisle may drop to minus 4C (24.8F) on Thursday, and York expected to have lows of minus 6C (21.2F).
Environment Agency issued nine flood warnings, where flooding is likely, and 88 flood alerts, meaning that flooding is possible. The forecast mentioned responses from local councils in England, with residents warned to take “extra care” while the cold snap lasts.
Ms Nasir said that on Friday and over the weekend the weather is assumed to turn “quite dangerous” as “an area of cloud and rain” coupled with extremely cold air brings a further risk of snow, and “perhaps even of freezing rain“. The Centrepoint charity for homeless youth has urged people to contact them or Streetlink on 0300 500 0914 if they see people living out in the cold.
The NHS said that, despite the tough conditions, many vaccination centers have remained open, and any missed appointments will be rescheduled. Several councils in England, including Rugby Borough Council, and Southwark Council in London, were forced to briefly suspend waste collection services due to the weather conditions.
Thurrock Council in Essex said more than 100 workers, mostly from street cleaning and waste collection teams, were diverted from regular duties to help clear snow from footpaths and routes to medical centers.
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