Blast of 15C sub-tropical air just days after temperatures plummeted could see water mains burst

Briatins may have been shivering through one of the coldest Decembers for 122 years, but ‘Snow Sunday’ chaos is set to give way to ‘Burst Pipe Monday’ as temperatures rocket. 

Thermometers have averaged just a fraction of a degree above freezing so far this month, but a blast of sub-tropical air tomorrow will see the mercury rise as high as 15C (59F). 

The thaw will lead to a huge surge in burst water pipes, experts say, as the now free-flowing liquid hits frozen blocks, causing a surge in pressure that can crack copper or plastic plumbing. 

However, chills are poised to return later in the week, raising the prospect of a white Christmas in parts of the country. 

Briatins may have been shivering through one of the coldest Decembers for 122 years, but ‘Snow Sunday’ chaos is set to give way to ‘Burst Pipe Monday’ as temperatures rocket

WEATHER CHAOS: A wintry scene near Richmond yesterday. Left: The burst main in Camden

Tens of thousands of homes are set to suffer burst pipes, with Thames Water at 0.6C (33.1F). The winter of 1962-63 was brutally cold, with ten weeks of temperatures as low as -22C. 

But that didn’t start until Boxing Day – so the December average was higher than this year. 

The Met Office has forecast up to four hours’ snow to sweep the North from this morning, with between one and six inches falling. 

Blizzards will be whipped up by strong winds, and freezing rain threatens power cuts as it forms ice on contact with power lines, with its weight then often enough to snap the cables. 

The South and Midlands face up to two hours’ rain, sleet and snow this morning with up to an inch of snow possible amid strong winds. But almost all snow nationwide will melt in just a few hours from lunchtime – temporarily threatening icy roads – as milder 8C (46F) air arrives. 

Even warmer 14C (57F) highs follow tomorrow, with a relatively balmy 11C (52F) on Monday night. 

Tens of thousands of homes are set to suffer burst pipes, with Thames Water at 0.6C (33.1F)

Met Office forecaster Helen Caughey said: ‘After ten days, the cold northerly airflow will see a push of mild air from the South West on Sunday. 

As the mild air meets the cold air over the UK, there will be a transient spell of snow, especially in the North.’ 

It means temperatures could be as much as 25 degrees higher at 6am on Monday compared to 6am on Friday. 

More than 100,000 properties suffered burst pipes following the December 2010 Big Freeze, causing £680million of damage. 

And burst pipe insurance claims rocketed 1,000 per cent after the ‘Beast from the East’ in 2018. 

The Association of British Insurers says the average repair bill is £9,300. After the thaw, chills will return by Wednesday, with snow flurries likely around Christmas Day, especially in the North. 

Bookmakers Ladbrokes cut odds on a white Christmas to 2/1 in Edinburgh, 7/2 in Birmingham and 4/1 in London putting hundreds of engineers on standby for tomorrow. 

Insurance claims are set to jump more than ten-fold. Yesterday, residents were evacuated from their homes in Camden, North London, after a burst water main flooded their street. 

Sixty firefighters scrambled to help, with one resident saying the road was ‘like the river Thames’. 

Officials are investigating whether it was linked to frozen pipes. 

Police and firefighters also rushed to stop more than two dozen people playing on a frozen pond in Wimbledon Common, South London, yesterday, just days after four boys died from falling through ice on a lake in Solihull, near Birmingham. 

Dog-walker Kerry Hopkins, who alerted police, said: ‘I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. 

I asked a few people what they were doing and didn’t they see the news last week? But they said it was fine and the ice was thick enough.’ 

So far, this month is set to be one of the coldest Decembers since 1900, averaging just 0.8C (33.4F) in Central England – some 3.8C (6.8F) below normal. 

The only years colder in the first half of December were 2010, with an average of 0.2C (32.4F), and 1981