When will the cold weather end? Overnight temperatures drop as frigid snap blankets UK
The big freeze continued across the UK last night - but may soon be lifting.
Temperatures fell as low as -11C overnight, with the Met Office saying that that temperature was recorded at Loch Glascarnoch in the Scottish Highlands, with the mercury dipping below -7C across much of the country.
Temperatures were slightly milder in England and Wales, with lows of -6C at Trawsgoed in Ceredigion, Wales and -4C at Rostherne, Cheshire.
Forecaster Simon Partridge said the chill stemmed primarily from “a little ridge of high pressure moving across the UK overnight”, adding “the main difference between that and previous nights is the winds are a lot lighter”.
Mr Partridge said that much of the country will see frost in the morning but that later in the day there is expected to be widespread sunshine.
He said: “Friday is really the end of the really cold weather as things turn back to average by the time we get into the weekend.”
It comes after hundreds of schools were forced to close, roads were disrupted and homes were left without power because of snow.
About 100 schools closed in northern Scotland on Thursday, while in Wales, 36 were closed in Pembrokeshire, 14 in Carmarthenshire and seven in Ceredigion.
In North Yorkshire, 33 schools were closed while eight were listed as fully closed in East Yorkshire.
The Met Office has a spate of yellow ice warnings in place across the UK on Friday morning, including north, east, south-east and south-west England, northern and south-eastern areas of Scotland and north and west Wales.