Norwegian ‘surge’ plunges parts of Britain into sub-zero temperatures as mercury dips as low as -8C in Scotland with widespread frost

• A 500-mile wide ‘Scandinavian surge’ will see temperatures colder than Iceland across Britain this weekend
• Most areas in the UK will stay dry with cold air arriving from northern Norway causing temperatures to drop
• The Met Office has said temperatures plummeted as low as -8C in Scotland while England saw lows of -3C 

A Norwegian ‘surge’ has plunged parts of Britain into sub-zero temperatures as the mercury dipped to as low as -8C in Scotland overnight.  

Snow flurries are due in Scotland, with ice risks and widespread frosts including in the south as temperatures fell as low as -4C in England last night.

Most areas of the UK will stay dry today with cold air arriving from northern Norway causing temperatures to plummet this weekend.

It comes just a week after British farmers were hailing the start of spring as lambing season began amid temperatures peaking at 53F (12C) across the country.

Last night, the Met Office warned of lows around -10C in Scotland – the UK’s coldest spring temperature for three years, since March 2018’s -10.7C Beast from the East.

Temperatures of -2C were due in England with nights getting colder than the 3C lows in Reykjavík, Iceland. Forecasters revealed the chill will ease from Monday.

Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna said: ‘We’ll see a return of wintry hazards as cold air sweeps across the UK from the north. Wintry showers and widespread frost are possible.’ 

Snow flurries are due in Scotland, with ice risks and widespread frosts including in the south as temperatures fell as low as -8C last night. Pictured, swimmers make their way into the sea at Boscombe beach in Dorset during sun rise

Last night, the Met Office warned of lows around -10C in Scotland – the UK’s coldest spring temperature for three years, since March 2018’s -10.7C Beast from the East

Families were out for their daily walk in Hampstead Heath this morning as temperatures fell overnight

Pictured: the 500 mile-wide ‘Scandinavian surge’ will see temperatures colder than Iceland across Britain this weekend

Britons enjoyed a dry and bright start this morning with early spells of sunshine. Any patches of mist and fog are expected to quickly lift and clear. 

Speaking about the expected -10C temperatures, Met Office forecaster Matthew Box told MailOnline: ‘The glens in Scotland might reach that figure for Saturday perhaps. It’s not out of the question.’

He added: ‘It’s going to get a lot colder for the weekend. We’ve got cold air coming in on a northerly wind but it will be relatively settled at least for the first part of the weekend with a combination of cold air and clear skies.’

Last month saw the highest and lowest temperatures of the UK’s winter season recorded, with some parts of the east coast having their wettest winter on record.

Cold conditions from the east brought temperatures down to -9.4F (-23C) at Braemar in Aberdeenshire on February 11, the lowest temperature in the UK since 1995 and the lowest in February since 1955, according to the Met Office.

Forecasters said a southerly flow brought warm weather from the Canaries and Africa and led to the season’s highest temperature of 65.1F (18.4C) at Santon Downham in Suffolk on February 24.

Dr Mark McCarthy, head of the Met Office National Climate Information Centre, said: ‘February 2021 has seen a wide temperature range resulting from the two predominant weather patterns we’ve seen this month, with the first half of February experiencing some bitterly cold easterlies originating from Russia, and recent days seeing the influence of air coming from the Canary Islands.

‘Minimum temperatures of below -20 were more frequent historically, but have become scarcer, while winter temperatures above 18C (64.4F) have become a little more regular, with four of the last five winters recording such events.

Swimmers make their way into the sea at Boscombe beach in Dorset during sun rise on Saturday morning

Temperatures of -2C were due in England with nights getting colder than the 3C lows in Reykjavík, Iceland. Forecasters revealed the chill will ease from Monday. Pictured, Boscombe beach

Sheep farmer Rhona Thompson holds a newborn lamb which was born in the early hours of Monday morning at A J Thompson & Sons farm on the Romney Marsh in Kent

‘Historically they were extremely infrequent events. Our winters are changing and as we have seen we can still receive cold snaps.

‘It’s just that those extremes won’t be quite as cold or as frequent as they once would have been.’

Earlier this week sheep farmer Rhona Thompson was pictured holding a newborn lamb, born in the early hours of Monday morning at A J Thompson & Sons farm on the Romney Marsh near Lydd in Kent. 

And crowds flocked to public areas around Britain last weekend to take advantage of the sunshine and above-average temperatures, despite Government appeals to remain indoors.  

Source: Read Full Article