Snow has dusted Scottish peaks as an Arctic blast sweeps across Britain, sending temperatures plunging below freezing. The mercury dropped to -2C in the Highlands, while Yorkshire recorded a frosty 1C, Cumbria 2C, Worcestershire 3C, and typically mild Devon just 4C.
Daytime highs struggled to reach normal levels, with Glasgow barely reaching 12C, Manchester 13C, and London topping out at 16C — all 4C to 7C below average. The Met Office described the day as 'chilly and rather breezy' with sunny spells punctuated by showers in the North and West, and hail and thunder threatening southern areas.
Met Office meteorologist Clare Nasir explained: 'It's cold outside with showers. The reason why we have both is because the position of the wind. It's coming in from the Arctic, dragging in very cold air and then flowing over a relatively warm sea. The air becomes unstable and that's the reason why we do have showers.'
As night falls, showers will cling to northern and eastern coasts, while clear skies elsewhere bring another cold night with patchy mist and frost. Nasir noted: 'We've even seen a touch of grass frost in the South and a touch of air frost in the north across one or two glens of Scotland.'
The cold snap is expected to be short-lived. While Friday will see highs of 13C to 17C, a weekend warm-up is on the way. By Saturday, London is forecast to reach 20C, with Manchester and Cardiff at 18C, and Edinburgh and Belfast at 17C.
