Britain braced for coldest night of the year with temperatures set to plunge to -10C TONIGHT
Met office warns of biting winds and freezing showers turning to ice on the roads as Brits batten down the hatches for a big chill
PARTS of Britain are preparing for what could be the coldest night of the year so far as temperatures are set to plummet as low as -10C tonight.
The UK will continue shivering after snow fell in parts of England and Scotland last week and flooding swept across the north.
Snow-covered Iceland will seem positively balmy today with temperatures as high as 4C there — while we endure lows of -2C in London this evening and -4C or lower in northern Scotland.
The Met Office basic forecast for the country tonight says the parts of the country "will be windy with widespread frost."
In a warning for drivers, it adds: "Showers in the North and close to western and eastern coasts will be wintry at height and could lead to icy roads."
And as Thursday dawns, temperatures are set to continue falling yet further, "with sunshine in the west, and wintry showers in the east."
The Met Office added that "snow in the east could affect some eastern towns as far south as Suffolk".
A yellow warning for Ice was issued for northern Scotland this morning and Ice & Snow for northern Scotland and the east coast of England down to Suffolk.
Some weather watchers now think this winter could be even colder than 2010's Big Freeze for Brits.
There are predictions we could see a repeat of the Arctic weather which froze the country seven years ago, causing travel chaos.
Odds were slashed on November being declared the coldest on record — with Ladbrokes offering 5/2.
Public Health England has issued warnings urging vulnerable people to keep warm and take precautions so as not to fall ill.
Dr Thomas Waite, of the Extreme Events team, said: "We know that more deaths occur every winter in the UK than in the summer due to a wide range of causes including cold weather, influenza and other respiratory infections.
"If we all keep a close eye out for each other over the coming months hopefully we’ll all be able to stay well this winter."
Met Office forecaster Helen Roberts said that this week will get colder as it goes on, with overnight temperatures into Thursday expected to nosedive.
She added: "A return to cold is the theme for this week - cold, breezy with a return of widespread overnight frost and wintry showers predominantly around the coastal fringes of the UK.
MOST READ IN NEWS
"We will potentially have some lying snow across the hills of Scotland and northern England and that always helps to keep temperatures down, so we could potentially see temperatures as low as -8C (17.6F), possibly -10C (14F), across parts of Scotland where there is lying snow by Thursday night.
"And even across England and Wales we could see -6C (21.2F) to -8C (17.6F) and some snow across hillier parts."
South Western Railway, meanwhile, warned commuters to check their journey before they travel as the poor weather conditions could cause problems for trains.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368 . We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.