UK weather – Brits brace for -10C icy plunge and snow in coldest night of the season after Storm Arwen kills three

ICE and snow warnings are in force for much of the UK as Brits brace for the "coldest night of the season".

The killer conditions of Storm Arwen have brought gusts of almost 100mph and sent temperatures tumbling - dropping as low as -10C last night.

Snow has blanketed much of Britain as the icy plunge takes hold and some areas have seen school closures.

And the "cold and frosty" weather is forecast to stick around - for up to two more weeks.

Yellow weather warnings for ice cover central, eastern and southern England, and north east Scotland.

They stretch from as far north as Aberdeen down to Southampton on the Hampshire coast.

The conditions are expected to make for "tricky travel" until at least 10am tomorrow.

A snow warning also covers central and northern England from Sheffield to Milton Keynes which could bring up to 2cm to the region.

The mercury plunged to -6.4C in Cumbria last night as the bone-shaking chill took over, and the top temperature anywhere in the UK was just 8.5C in Cromer, Norfolk.

It is set to remain just as chilly today and into next week, clocking at least -3C in the Midlands, Yorkshire and Northumberland overnight.

It is expected to drop to -4C in Southampton at around 5am and parts of Scotland and northern England where snow is on on the ground could drop to as low as -10C on what Met Office forecasters are calling "the coldest night of the season so far".

Met Office forecaster Tom Morgan said: "As Storm Arwen is clearing out to Europe, a cold northerly flow of wind has been left behind in the UK, causing some of the bitterly cold temperatures we've seen.

"There is set to be further wintry weather on Sunday, with snow expected to fall across areas in Scotland and northern England, and even in parts of southern and central England.

"Parts of Scotland and northern England, where snow is on the ground, will be very cold again tonight, with the temperature certainly falling below zero and even as low as -10C, which would make it the coldest night of the season so far.

"Though this is expected to be the exception rather than the rule, temperatures of below freezing will be widespread, including in London and the South East which could hit -2C.

"Even if you do live in a city, you can expect to be scraping frost, ice or even snow off your cars on Monday morning."

Storm Arwen has already claimed the lives of at least three people, including headteacher and dad-of-four Francis Lagan.

The "much-loved" principal was killed when a tree fell on his car in Antrim, Northern Ireland, on Friday.

A 35-year-old driver also died under similar circumstances on the B977 in Aberdeenshire around 5.45pm on Friday, while a third person was fatally crushed by a falling tree in Ambleside, Cumbria.

High winds are expected to continue to cause carnage after destroying several buildings and cars as speeds approach 100mph.

Over the weekend in Brizlee Wood, Northumberland, windspeeds hit a whopping 98mph - closely followed by Berry Head, Devon, where 92mph gusts were recorded.

In Orlock Head, County Down, winds of 87mph were noted. Meanwhile, gusts hit 81mph in Aberporth, Dyfed, and 79mph in The Needles on the Isle of Wight.

During the chaos, more than 200,000 homes have been left without power.

Northern Powergrid last night said it had restored power to about 182,000 customers, but a further 58,000 were still affected.

Train and bus services have also seen widespread delays and cancellations, with urgent "do not travel" warnings in place in some areas.

SNOW WAY

Summing up the damage caused by the first named storm of the season, the Met Office said the strong winds and a mixture of rain, sleet and snow led to "power cuts, transport disruption, trees fell, there were large coastal waves and blizzards affected some hills".

A cold weather alert was issued by the UK Health Security Agency on Friday, remaining in place until Monday.

It prompted advice to try to stay warm and look out for those most at risk from the effects of the chilly conditions such as the elderly and anyone with heart and lung problems.

The Met Office said this is due to an "Arctic shot" which has moved south across the UK.

It is now feared snow could fall for two weeks straight in the killer storm's aftermath, lasting well into December.

WX Charts show the wintery weather will continue next Friday affecting England, Scotland and Wales.

And Brits will be braced for weeks of cold conditions - as more snow is currently also forecast for December 13.

This means that snow could fall - potentially causing transport and travel issues - for the next fortnight.