An arctic freeze is set to grip the UK in the coming days, with temperatures forecast to plunge to -3C in parts of Scotland this weekend. Meteorologists say more than 60 counties will see the mercury drop to 0C or colder later this week.
The cold snap begins on Thursday, November 12, when most of Scotland, northern England, and mid-Wales are expected to remain at or below freezing by midday. The chill deepens by Friday, November 13, as Scotland cools further to -3C, more Welsh areas stay frozen, and parts of the West Country only reach 0C.
Weekend freeze spreads across Britain
By Saturday, most of England is forecast to be at 0C or below, along with almost all of Wales and Scotland and parts of Northern Ireland. Sunday brings a slight warming for many areas, though temperatures are still likely to hover around freezing.
According to WX Charts, the start of next week should see temperatures climb above freezing, though it will remain very cold before gradually warming up.
Counties affected by sub-zero temperatures
In total, 24 English counties, 20 Scottish counties, 13 Welsh counties, and five Northern Irish counties will see temperatures drop to 0C or below on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, amounting to 62 counties.
Affected areas include all of Scotland's mainland regions, such as Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll & Bute, Banffshire, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries & Galloway, Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, Fife, Highland, Lanarkshire, Midlothian, Moray, Outer Hebrides, Perth & Kinross, Renfrewshire, Scottish Borders, Stirling, and West Lothian.
In Northern Ireland, County Antrim, County Armagh, County Fermanagh, County Londonderry, and County Tyrone are all forecast to hit freezing temperatures.
Welsh and English regions in the cold
Welsh counties affected include Blaenau Gwent, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire, Pembrokeshire, Powys, Rhondda Cynon Taf, and Wrexham.
English counties facing the freeze are Buckinghamshire, Cheshire, County Durham, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Greater Manchester, Herefordshire, Lancashire, Leicestershire, North Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Somerset, South Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Yorkshire, Wiltshire, and Worcestershire.
The Met Office forecast for the coming week says: "Spells of rain continue across the south through midweek. Colder conditions develop further north with showers, some turning wintry. Frosts become increasingly widespread later."
