UK weather: Temperatures hit -13C as cold snap continues with storms set to hit at weekend
Temperatures plummeted to -13C in some areas overnight as the UK’s cold snap looks set to continue until Friday – with stormy weather hitting this weekend.
Glen Ogle in central Scotland saw the mercury fall to -13C, while -11C was recorded at Tulloch Bridge in the Scottish Highlands.
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Freezing temperatures and snow will continue for much of the UK this week because of cold Arctic air moving south – making it 5C to 6C lower than usual for this time of year.
A Met Office spokeswoman said the low temperatures – which have prompted an amber cold alert for England from the UK Health Security Agency – are also due to how long the cold snap has lasted.
“It’s due to the prolonged nature of this cold spell, it will have been lasting for quite a few days,” the spokeswoman said.
“A build-up of snow, as well, just allows for the temperatures to get colder and colder and we don’t often see a cold spell last three to five days.
“The air is coming directly from the Arctic, so it is exceptionally cold air,” she added.
Yellow weather warnings for snow and ice are in place across Scotland, much of northern England and parts of North Wales today and tomorrow.
More than 40cm (15in) of snow could be seen on high ground in northwest Scotland by the end of Friday as it continues to build up over the coming days.
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Drone footage shows Greater Manchester coated in snow
“Potentially disruptive” stormy weather is then set to land on Sunday, the Met Office said, which will also bring milder temperatures.
“It’s staying cold until Friday, and then looking further ahead into the weekend we’ve got some deep areas of low pressure pushing in, so a big change in weather type, and we could see some stormy conditions by the end of the week,” the spokeswoman said.
“The cold isn’t lasting right to the end of the week, but we have a very different type of potentially disruptive weather arriving.”
The Met Office’s long-range forecast, which can be prone to change, said that “there is the potential for some damaging winds on Sunday into Monday, especially in the north. Rain is likely to be heavy at times across many western hills.”
Scotland was among the worst-hit parts of the UK for snow and ice, with Transport Scotland warning motorists to be prepared if they have to undertake journeys.
Stein Connelly, head of transport resilience (operations), said: “This cold snap is… causing difficult driving conditions in the current warning areas. It’s important that anyone that has to travel during the warning period plans their journey in advance and allows extra time. Police Scotland’s official travel advice is likely to change at short notice.”
The freezing weather saw schools closed and transport affected, with thousands of households in England and Wales becoming eligible for cold weather payments.
They are made to vulnerable people, including pensioners, to help them pay for heating when the temperature dips below freezing.
Read more:
Weather in pictures: Snowy scenes across UK
The payments go to those living in an area where the average temperature is recorded as, or forecast to be, 0C or below over seven consecutive days.
Payments will be made to homes across Cumbria, Oxfordshire, Yorkshire, Northumberland, Norfolk, Staffordshire and Powys in Wales.
A police officer who was driving a van that followed two teenagers shortly before they died in an e-bike crash will not be prosecuted.
The deaths of Harvey Evans, 15, and Kyrees Sullivan, 16, sparked riots in the Ely area of Cardiff in May 2023.
The officer was facing a dangerous driving allegation but prosecutors decided there was not enough evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction.
A Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) statement said: “We fully understand that this will be disappointing news for the families of both boys and will offer a meeting with them to explain our reasoning further.”
Rumours on social media that the teenagers were being pursued by police were initially denied.
South Wales Police said none of its vehicles were in Snowden Road at the time of the crash.
But police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) later confirmed it was investigating after video appeared to show them being followed by a van – without blue lights or a siren – minutes before the incident.
Other footage, however, showed the van turn off and it wasn’t following the boys at the time of the collision.
A key factor under consideration was whether there was any point at which the actions of the officers in the van “constituted a pursuit”.
CCTV showed a police van following the bike moments before it crashed
Read more:
Timeline of events before fatal Cardiff crash
The driver and passenger of the marked police van were previously issued with gross misconduct notices.
A second investigation was also opened by the IOPC into issues including police management of the crash scene and treatment of the families.
Riots broke out in the Ely area after the boys’ death. Pic: PA
Pic: PA
A riot of several hours broke out after the boys’ deaths, with cars set alight and fireworks and other missiles thrown at police.
Eleven officers needed hospital treatment and 31 people were eventually charged.
The decision not to charge the police officer driving the van can be challenged under the victims’ right of review scheme.
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