UK weather: Temperatures struggle to reach double figures after snow hits parts of the UK

Commuters can expect cold, frosty mornings at the beginning of the week

The cold weather will continue into the start of next week after freezing temperatures brought snow and ice to parts of northeast England and Scotland over the weekend.

Thick snow was seen across swathes of County Durham and North Yorkshire and it also clipped the highest parts of the peak district. Scottish mountains in particular were also covered in the white stuff.

The Met Office’s sensors recorded 1-2cm of snow in the Scottish highlands in Inverness, however they predict that mountain tops saw as much as 4-5cm of snow.

Parts of the country also experienced one of the coldest October days in a decade.

The Met Office also reported that parts of the southwest, such as Bristol, Devon and Cornwall had some short-lived, wet snow that did not settle.

Some Scottish mountains may see showers of snow today although none is predicted for the rest of the UK over the coming week.

Despite the absence of snowfall, temperatures will remain low and “struggle to climb into double figures” at the beginning of the week, the Met Office said.

Predicting a cold start to the new working week, widespread frost and freezing fog patches are forecast for Monday which will slowly clear to "crisp autumn sunshine" across much of the UK.

Those across the eastern coastal counties can also expect potentially heavy rain, while western areas will have drier, brighter weather.

“The rest of the weekend and early this week we will continue to see really quite cold air mass, which will see some showers mainly in eastern areas, but plenty of autumn sunshine particularly across western areas," the Met Office said. “There will be cold, frosty mornings and a little bit of fog first thing for those commuting to work, especially in areas around Cheshire, greater Manchester and Carlisle.”

While temperatures this weekend have been well below the average of 14C in south east England and 8C in the north for this time of year, the Met Office predicts they will rise through the week, reaching 15C in some areas on Friday.

By midweek, the weather will become generally more changeable, with outbreaks of rain and cloudy weather across much of the UK.

“By Tuesday its looking as if the weather will change from cold and crisp weather into something a bit warmer, a bit more unsettled and potentially more wet and windy," the Met Office said.

While the cold snap of this weekend is believed to be temporary, overnight forecasts remain low, with temperatures dropping to a minimum of -4 and -5C on Monday night in the coldest parts of the UK.