UK weather: Met Office warns ‘rapid thaw’ of snow to spark flooding chaos in just days as temperatures plunge to -14C

BRITAIN is bracing itself for further flooding after the Met Office warned of a "rapid thaw" of melting snow and ice into next week.

A map from the Met Office shows how warmer Atlantic air is set to bring about milder temperatures and rainfall from Sunday, with the north of the UK seeing the change first.

However, this could also bring about a "rapid thaw" of lying snow that could cause a ";few issues", the forecaster warned.

It comes as temperatures are expected to plummet tonight, with the mercury potentially reaching a bone-chilling -20C in northern parts of the country.

Deputy Chief Meteorologist, Mark Sidaway, said: “On Sunday and through Monday south-westerly winds will bring some rain and much milder temperature across the northern UK.

"With milder temperatures and rain moving in, a rapid thaw of lying snow could cause a few issues.

"Further south it will remain colder and dry for longer and here freezing fog could cause some problems on Saturday."

He added that high pressure next week will bring more "settled" conditions to most of the UK, although occasional fronts in the northwest of Scotland may bring rain at times, and breezier conditions.

Large swathes of the country have been suffering with disruption caused by the freezing weather this week.

Earlier, the Met Office confirmed the mercury had plummeted to -14.5C in northern Scotland overnight.

However, the forecaster offered some respite for the milder temperatures expected next week.

Chief Meteorologist Paul Gundersen said: “Increasing cloud and light rain, perhaps preceded by a little snow, will begin to affect northwestern then northern parts of the UK through the weekend.

"Here, temperatures will be back to around average by Sunday, and on Monday it’ll be much milder, with temperatures reaching double digits in Northern Ireland, northern England and Scotland”.

Friday night is predicted to bring the lowest temperatures of the cold snap in parts of Scotland and northern England, with temperatures between minus 15C and minus 20C possible.

Met Office meteorologist Liam Eslick said: "That's probably the lowest limits that we're ... expecting, we probably don't really expect many places to get close to minus 20C, but we could see one or two places that could just touch that mark overnight Friday into Saturday.

"Just because it's, again, still conditions, it's high pressure, not a lot of wind and under clear skies as well.

"Especially where there's still snow on the ground across Scotland and northern England, that's sort of a perfect scenario to see those temperatures just plummet from Friday night into Saturday morning as well."

Mr Eslick said: "Saturday is still going to be another cold one, unfortunately."

However, clouds will come in from the west which should prevent temperatures dropping as quickly, he said.

The meteorologist added: "Sunday will still be a chilly one, but not as cold as what we've seen for today and for tomorrow.

"By Monday, we are expecting the temperatures to come back up to what we would expect for this time of year, which is around sort of 7C (or) 8C".

Snow and winds have so far brought travel disruption, with rail lines forced to close.

Manchester Airport closed both its runways on Thursday morning "due to significant levels of snow" but they were later reopened.

Transport for Wales closed some rail lines in the country due to track damage following a period of "heavy wind, rain and snow".

Hundreds of schools in Scotland and around 90 in Wales were shut on Thursday.

As icy conditions persist, motorists are being urged to stick to major roads that are most likely to have been gritted.

Car insurer RAC said it has seen the highest levels of demand for rescues in a three-day period since December 2022.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has extended its cold weather health alert for all of England until Sunday.