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UK weather live: Britain braces for coldest night of winter so far with temperatures to drop as low as -20C

The warning for snow comes amid continued weather disruption at airports and schools across the UK

Simon Calder
Travel Correspondent
,Alex Croft
Thursday 09 January 2025 16:34 GMT
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Snowfall on A3 in Surrey as weather causes flight delays and motorway chaos

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Britain is bracing for its coldest night of the winter so far, with temperatures forecast to plummet as low as -20C in some areas.

Thursday will be another “bitterly cold” night and is expected to be the coldest of the winter, the Met Office said. Temperatures as low as -16C to -20C are possible in Scotland, according to the BBC.

It comes as three fresh weather warnings for ice were issued by the Met Office, with two warnings covering most of England’s east coast, Wales, the Midlands, northwest England, and Northern Ireland until 10am on Friday.

A snow and ice warning for northern Scotland will now last until 10am tomorrow, and a yellow ice warning will cover southwest England and south Wales from 3am until 11am on Friday.

Last night, England, Wales and Northern Ireland all saw their coldest nights of the winter so far last night, with temperatures reaching -11.2C, -7.9C and -7.2C respectively, the Met Office said.

The coldest temperature across the whole UK last night was the -12.4C recorded at Tulloch Bridge in Inverness-shire - just short of the winter low of 13.3C recorded in the early hours of Monday.

Homeowners trapped inside while ‘still recovering’ from flood a year ago

Dozens of homeowners in Leicestershire have been trapped after flooding caused damage to their properties which have still not been fixed after they were destroyed by water a year ago.

Homeowners on Belton Road in Loughborough remained stranded on the first floor of their semi-detached houses on Tuesday after rising water from the nearby Grand Union canal flooded the street.

Families on the road complained they were hit with similar flooding from Storm Henk on January 3 last year which ruined their properties and left them trapped inside.

Read the full report after severe flooding struck Leicestershire

Homeowners trapped inside while ‘still recovering’ from flood a year ago

A major incident was declared in Leicestershire on Monday after rain and snow brought severe flooding.

Alex Croft9 January 2025 05:00

Forecasters warn of travel disruption to road and rail services

Travel disruption to road and rail services are likely this morning in the warning areas, as well as the potential for accidents in icy places, the forecaster said.

Freezing temperatures continue in parts of the UK
Freezing temperatures continue in parts of the UK (EPA)

A yellow warning for snow and ice is in place for northern Scotland until midnight on Thursday and another snow and ice warning is in force for Northern Ireland until 11am in the morning as sleet and snow showers are set to continue.

Namita Singh9 January 2025 04:53

Ploughs fitted to gritters to clear routes in Devon and Cornwall

Ploughs have been fitted to gritters in Devon and Cornwall which will work into Thursday morning to clear routes in the area, police and highways officials said.

It comes as significant travel disruption was caused by the snow yesterday with some roads closed and motorists stationary for “long periods of time”, a joint statement from Devon and Cornwall Police and Devon County Council Highways said.

Weather warnings for snow and ice are in force across much of the UK after severe flooding and snow caused travel disruption and school closures
Weather warnings for snow and ice are in force across much of the UK after severe flooding and snow caused travel disruption and school closures (PA Wire)

Snow ploughs became stuck in queues of traffic caused by “minor incidents”, the statement added.

Namita Singh9 January 2025 04:33

New weather warnings issued as temperatures set to plummet to -20C

Fresh weather warnings have been issued as temperatures are set to plummet. Forecasters predict the coldest nights of the year will come over the next two days as temperatures could reach as low as -20C in areas that have seen heavy snowfall, according to the BBC. The Met Office predicted lows of -16C.

Snow, ice and fog yellow weather warnings have been issued for areas across the UK today, which come after snow and sleet caused disruption on Wednesday.

Weather warnings for snow and ice are in force across much of the UK
Weather warnings for snow and ice are in force across much of the UK (PA Wire)

Significant travel disruption was caused by the snow in Devon and Cornwall on Wednesday, with some roads closed and motorists stationary for “long periods of time”, a joint statement from Devon and Cornwall Police and Devon County Council Highways said.

Namita Singh9 January 2025 03:36

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