Politics

Snow, freezing rain and 60mph winds to hit UK on Valentine’s Day before temperatures jump by 12C next week

BRITS are braced for one more bone-chilling day of the cold-snap after temperatures plunged so low the sea froze.

Freezing rain, treacherous ice and 80mph gusts will mark the end of the icy grip — before temperatures rocket tomorrow by 12C.

Read our UK weather live blog for the very latest news and forecasts.

The sea even froze on the shores of the Isle of Sheppey in Kent[/caption]

A fountain in a home in Cambridgeshire completely iced over

A woman pulls her sledge up a hill near Ashford in Kent as the cold and icy weather continues[/caption]

Shaharyar Khan, from Leytonstone, practices his skating on a flooded field that has turned to ice in Hollow Pond in Leytonstone[/caption]

Strong winds are expected to hit parts of western Scotland and Northern Ireland’s east coast between 4am and midnight, the Met Office said.

It comes after temperatures plummeted so low that sea waves were seen freezing off the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.

Local dog walker Rob Chinn told Kent Online: “I was quite surprised.

“I’ve never seen anything like it before. It was like 12 to 15 inches of frozen sea or frozen slush.”

Met Office forecaster Luke Miall said today will not be “particularly pleasant” for most people, with winds reaching up to 40mph inland across England.

He said: “It’s going to be a bitterly cold day. Certainly where you’ve got freezing rain and ice, combined with those strong winds.”

Overnight temperatures were forecast to drop to minus 8C overnight in Scotland and between -1C and -5C in England and Wales.

It’s going to be a bitterly cold day

Met Office forecaster Luke Miall

Daytime temperatures will hover about 2C in eastern areas, increasing to 11C in south-west England.

A yellow weather alert for wind warns of gusts of up to 80mph and large waves for coastal areas in western Scotland and Northern Ireland’s east coast.

Temperatures will begin to increase from tomorrow, with the mercury rising to 13C across England.

However, Mr Miall said the weather will be “quite wet and windy” for most of the week.

He said: “We will be hovering between 7C to 12C, I suspect, through Tuesday, Wednesday Thursday.

“Most of the snow will start melting early in the week, with the exception being Scotland because they have had so much of it.”

The chilly conditions froze Trafalgar Square’s fountains and brought large amounts of snowfall to regions across the country.

In Derbyshire’s High Peak area, the impressive Kinder Downfall also froze, turning the 98ft waterfall into a slippery climbing wall.

People ice climb in Derbyshire as the cold snap continues to grip the UK[/caption]

Kelso, on the Scottish Borders, seen blanketed in snow[/caption]

Cars have been abandoned on Saddleworth Moor in West Yorkshire[/caption]

Members of the public take pictures of icicles on the Trafalgar Square fountains[/caption]

Public Health England (PHE) has extended its cold weather alert through the weekend and has urged people to check on vulnerable relatives and neighbours.

Dr Owen Landeg, group leader for extreme events and health protection at PHE, said: “Cold weather can have a serious impact on health, particularly for older people and those with heart and lung problems, as it increases the risks of heart attacks, strokes and chest infections.

“Make a call, or socially-distanced doorstep visit if they live close by, to remind them to heat their home to at least 18C, 64.4F, and to keep up to date with the forecast.

“It’s also helpful to check they have enough food and drinks and any medicines they need.”

The coldest UK temperature for 65 years was recorded at Braemar in Aberdeenshire on Wednesday night, when the mercury dropped down to minus 23C.

A record low temperature for February was also recorded in England and Wales when temperatures in Ravensworth, North Yorkshire, dropped to minus 15.3C overnight on Thursday.

The Met Office has issued weather warnings today (Sunday)[/caption]

Longframlington, Northumberland, covered in snow on Saturday morning[/caption]

Winter scenes from Inverleith Park in Edinburgh[/caption]

A police car near Longframlington, Northumberland[/caption]

People ice climb on the frozen Kinder Downfall, High Peak in Derbyshire[/caption]

A bodyboarder attempts to take photos in the sea as the waves crash against the Newlyn pier in Cornwall[/caption]

Northern Ireland will be hit by more snow over the weekend[/caption]

Five Met Office yellow weather warnings were in place for snow and ice on Saturday[/caption]

It states that “treacherous ice” may develop following freezing rain in affected areas, adding that “significant disruption” to transport is possible.

And Brits have been warned against perilous conditions on the roads, with fears that ice could lead to “road traffic collisions, road closures and longer journey times by public and private transport”.

The Met Office said there is also a “small chance of injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces”.

‘TREACHEROUS ICE’

For Sunday the Met Office has issued two separate warnings for wind and ice.

The wind warning, which covers the North East coast of Northern Ireland and the North West coast of Scotland, warns that “large waves” are likely as a result of strong gales.

Gusts could reach 75mph in affected areas, with ferry services at risk of cancellation.

COLD SNAP ENDS

It comes before temperatures shoot up to double figures again next week.

“For the past week the UK has been in a very cold airmass with temperatures well below average, this will change through the weekend as milder air moves in from the Atlantic and pushes that cold airmass out into the North Sea,” Armstrong said.

“Where temperatures were close to freezing in many places last week, we could expect to see 11C or 12C next week.”

A Met Office spokesperson confirmed to The Sun Online that temperatures will rocket to 13C in London and Bristol tomorrow following the cold snap.

And on Tuesday, Manchester and the North West will also see 12C temperatures after an icy blast this weekend.

Gulls rest upon surface ice on a partially frozen pond on Ham Common, London on Saturday[/caption]

A man stands next to a giant snowman while looking out to sea at Sandhaven Beach in South Shields, South Tyneside on Friday afternoon[/caption]

Icicles form on tree branches amid freezing temperatures in Much Hadham, Hertfordshire[/caption]

The seafront at Swanage in Purbeck, Dorset covered in sea foam as high winds and spring tides combined[/caption]

A snowman wearing a facemask in Southend-on-Sea, Essex[/caption]

Snow covers the ground around Leeds castle in Broomfield, southeast England[/caption]

The Thames River in Teddington, South West London, has frozen over for the first time in over 60 years[/caption]

A satellite image shows the UK blanketed in heavy snow[/caption]

Large snowdrifts alongside the B6278 road between Teesdale and Weardale in County Durham[/caption]

A snow family, and a cardboard Boris Johnson, is helping to spread a little bit of joy in Frinton, Essex[/caption]

Frozen icicles hang from a tunnel in Chee Dale, Derbyshire[/caption]

It comes after the River Thames froze over for the first time in 60 years as the Beast from the East 2 continues to blast Britain.

The “extreme freeze” has sent temperatures tumbling with more heavy snow on the way.

Temperatures in London dropped to -2C on Thursday as Storm Darcy battered Britain with a sub-zero cold snap.

As a result of the bitter chill from the Baltic, a huge section of the Thames froze over at Teddington, South West London.

The last time the river completely froze over was in January 1963 which saw the coldest winter for more than 200 years.

It brought blizzards, snow drifts and temperatures of -20C and even saw some parts of the sea freeze over.

The UK experienced the coldest February night for 25 years on Wednesday, with temperatures falling to below -20C in some areas.

Braemar, Scotland, saw the mercury fall to -23C in the early hours – the coldest temperature recorded in the UK since the -27C which hit Altnaharra in Scotland in December 1995.

A video taken in the village of Boat of Garten, near to Braemar, showed a cup of hot water instantly turning to ice when thrown into the air.

And a picture posted by Scot Rail showed large blocks of ice had formed underneath one of its high-speed trains.

Skiers head to the Town Moor in Newcastle for another day of fun in the snow[/caption]

A digger gets to work removing snow on Crete Road in Folkestone, Kent[/caption]

Ruari Macdonald digs out the Weather Station at Cairngorm mountain after it was buried in snow drifts[/caption]

A record low temperature for February was recorded in England and Wales for the second night running as parts of North Yorkshire dipped below minus 15C.

The Met Office said winds of up to 50mph were hitting the western isles of Scotland on Friday morning but that strong gusts would be felt across the UK.

Temperatures in Ravensworth dropped to minus 15.3C overnight on Thursday, having previously recorded an all-time low of minus 13.1C on Wednesday night.

Freezing temperatures also remained in Scotland, with minus 15.4C recorded at Kinbrace in Sutherland, but the Met Office said it was unlikely to fall lower than earlier in the week.

FREEZING COLD

Fifteen weather stations recorded their lowest temperatures ever for February.

The mercury also registered freezing temperatures in the Scottish Highlands, with -21.3C in Kinbrace and -18.2 in Strathallan.

The lowest temperature recorded in England and Wales was at Ravensworth, in north Yorkshire, which dropped to -13.1C.

Oli Claydon, a spokesman for the Met Office, said that some of the records in temperatures had been broken by “quite some way”.

He added: “Usually you’d expect records to be broken by point such-and-such of a degree but here we’re looking at big differences.”

Ice climbers tackle a frozen waterfall at the Slochd, 15 miles south of Inverness[/caption]

A Scottish farmer with a 25ft high snow tower in Aberdeenshire[/caption]

A dog out for a walk in the snow in Southend, Essex[/caption]

A woman pulls a child on a sledge in the snow in North Shields, Tyne and Wear[/caption]

Snow covers the ground around Leeds Castle in Kent[/caption]

We can now confirm that last night was the coldest February night across the UK since 23rd February 1955

That includes the infamous winter of 1962/1963

The #temperature in Braemar, Aberdeenshire fell to minus 23.0 °C at 08:13 this morning pic.twitter.com/NpcdIbg5eC

— Met Office (@metoffice) February 11, 2021

It comes after councils across England urged people to take “extra care” in the dangerous conditions and several were forced to briefly suspend waste collection services.

Conservative MP Jeremy Hunt took part in a House of Commons debate wearing a sling, hours after breaking his arm whilst jogging.

The chairman of the Health and Social Care Committee told MPs he had spent the morning at the Royal Surrey County Hospital after slipping in the icy conditions.

Health chiefs have also issued a cold weather alert for the whole of Britain, saying the chill could have “a serious impact on health”.

Dr Owen Landeg, Group Leader, Extreme Events and Health Protection at Public Health England, warned: “Cold weather can have a serious impact on health, particularly for older people and those with heart and lung problems, as it increases the risks of heart attacks, strokes and chest infections.

“So it’s really important during this particularly cold period, to keep checking on frail or older neighbours or relatives, especially those living alone or who have serious illnesses.”

Ice climbers ascend Kinder Downfall, a frozen waterfall in the Peak District National Park[/caption]

Two wild swimmers go for a dip at Portobello beach in Edinburgh[/caption]

Snowball fights at South Marine Park in South Shields, South Tyneside[/caption]

The sea turning to ice at Aldingham Beach, South Cumbria[/caption]

The NHS said that, despite the tough conditions, many vaccination centres have remained open, and any missed appointments will be rescheduled.

The Beast from the East has also caused a rare phenomenon in Britain – raging wild fires.

The extreme cold caused curing or drying out vegetation contributing to fires in Devon, Cornwall and Scotland.

Area commander Bruce Farquharson, from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, said winter fires were not uncommon due to extreme cold “curing” or drying out vegetation, and happened in Antarctica, Norway and Scandinavia.

He said: “It is counter-intuitive for almost everybody but the risk is there, the vegetation is tinder dry and it just takes the slightest spark to ignite the fire and it will burn very quickly and spread very quickly.”

A huge fire fuelled by fierce winds that engulfed swathes of Dartmoor on Thursday night was understood to have stopped spreading by Friday morning.

The moorland blaze, understood to have been near Tavy Cleave, north of Tavistock, Devon could be seen from miles away and at one stage was described as being around three miles wide.