Arctic blast to grip Britain: Map reveals the place temperatures will plunge to -8C with ice and freezing fog forecast as delicate spell involves an finish
After a pleasantly mild weekend, it will be time to get out the de-icer again tomorrow morning as temperatures are set to plunge overnight.
Icy conditions, freezing fog and widespread frost are expected, with snow due to hit some parts of the country early this week.
In rural Scotland, temperatures could dip as low as -8C (18F), while lows of -2C (28F) or -3C (27F) are likely in rural areas across England.
Even in towns and cities, overnight temperatures are set to plummet to a chilly 1C (33F) as Arctic air moves in.
‘We can expect a widespread frost with a few icy patches on Tuesday morning,’ said Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud.
And with rain sweeping across the country later that day, areas of higher ground in northern England are also likely to receive some snow.
Mr Stroud added that ‘rain will turn briefly to snow across the high ground in the far North’, but the snow will be ‘fairly short-lived’ and melt on Wednesday as temperatures improve.
The Hampshire village of Mottisfont in The Test Valley in the early morning sunshine today
The weather will then take another turn, with ‘wet and windy’ conditions expected to dominate the rest of the week.
Met Office meteorologist Marco Petagna said: ‘Monday night is probably the coldest night – we should get to – 8C in one or two spots in Scotland, more likely around high ground, where we’ve got a snow line.
‘Then on Tuesday night, possibly -3C in Scotland. By Tuesday morning, parts of England could get down to -2C or -3C.’
This weekend’s mild weather saw temperatures as high as 16.4C (61.5F) in Cardiff because winds brought milder air from the south and south west, the Met Office said.
Mr Petagna said: ‘That’s about five degrees above average – it should be about 1 to 12C that time of year.
‘On Monday, the winds go around to the north, so we’ll get air from a colder northerly direction.’
He added: ‘It’s just a brief colder spell. Later Tuesday the wind starts to come back from the Atlantic again so it starts to turn less cold.’
Mr Petagna said there is a chance temperatures could drop again next weekend as northerly winds are expected to develop.
Yesterday’s UK high was an unseasonable 15.4C (59.7F), also in Cardiff.
