Temperatures could plummet within days, weather maps suggest. (Image: wxcharts.com / Getty)
Temperatures could plummet to teeth-chattering lows across the UK in days, new maps suggest.
Forecast data collected by from yesterday showed almost all regions of the UK seeing the mercury drop to 0 or below on Monday, February 17, persisting through to the following day.
In , temperatures were forecast to fall as low as -4C in parts of Scotland, while major cities in England including Birmingham and Newcastle lie in areas expected to see minimum temperatures drop to between -1 and -2C.
Other parts of could see temperatures fall to -3C, with large parts of the south, including shivering at between 0 and -1C.
Much of was forecast for sub-zero temperatures, dropping as low as -3C in some areas, freezing conditions were anticipated in 11 of the UK’s 12 regions.
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Temperatures were forecast to fall as low as -4C in parts of Scotland, (Image: wxcharts.com)
Maps suggested a freezing couple of days could be ahead. (Image: wxcharts.com)
Only one, Northern Ireland, was anticipated to be a little less chilly, with minimums of 2 or 3C over this two-day period.
More recent data suggests temperatures may not drop quite as low, though forecasts from days out change frequently.
The ‘s current (covering Saturday, February 15 to Monday, February 17) anticipates conditions leading up the 17th to be mostly dry “often cloudy and cold in the east and northeast”.
Britons could also see weakening bands of rain and “perhaps snow moving in from the west and southwest, where turning milder. Often breezy.”
Its long range forecast, (which takes us from Monday, February 17 to Wednesday February 26) currently points to southeasterly winds being likely at the start of the period, “with below average temperatures and often cloudy conditions”.
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Map showing six-hour minimum temperatures (Image: wxcharts.com)
Further cold conditions could be ahead. (Image: wxcharts.com)
Further wintry showers are likely too, especially in northeastern areas, the government agency says.
“Meanwhile, frontal zones, bringing milder conditions and rain, will attempt to move in from the west or southwest,” it adds.
“If, or when, they push further northeastwards the chance of some snow or freezing rain increases. The transition between colder and milder conditions remains uncertain, but towards the end of this period, the milder, wetter conditions are likely to have spread across much of the country, and southwestern areas could become rather wet.
The Office also excpects that the cold air “will never be far away over the near continent and there’s always a small risk that it could still flirt with eastern areas at times”.
You can find the latest forecasts and weather warnings .