Warnings of snow and ice are in place across England, Wales and Northern Ireland until Wednesday as the Met Office warns today will be the coldest day of the year.
Temperatures are expected to drop below freezing tonight, with parts of the UK facing lows of -10C, as an Arctic air front travels down the country.
Up to 30cm of snow could fall in parts of Scotland, with other areas expected to see 10-20cm of snow fall.
As the temperatures drop dramatically, the Met Office has no choice but to put warnings in place across the UK.
A number of yellow weather warnings are now in place across the country
Met Office
A yellow weather warning will be in place for London, the Thames Valley, East Anglia, parts of the Midlands and South Wales from 9pm on Monday night until 10am on Tuesday.
An identical one will be in place in Northern Ireland at the same time.
A yellow weather warning for snow and ice is already in place in much of Northern and Eastern Scotland and North East England.
The area covered by it is set to extend as far south as Hull from Tuesday before it lifts at 10am on Wednesday.
Ice warnings are in place across the country
PA
Temperatures are likely to drop to -6C in Birmingham and Belfast, with Manchester sinking to as low as -1C tonight.
The Met Office spokesman, Grahame Madge, has warned the temperatures may not lift for two weeks.
“Temperatures will be much, much colder than we would expect at this time of year.
“The pattern will set in for some time. We have got this feed of cold air coming in from a much higher latitude.
Three yellow weather warnings have been issued by the Met Office
PA
“We expect these conditions to remain in place until at least next weekend and possibly longer because sometimes these conditions can be quite stubborn and not easily subject to change.”
Major travel disruption is like to happen as a result, with journey’s expected to take longer than usual.
“This is a disruptive spell of weather which could have quite serious consequences for some,” Madge said.
“Listen to the forecast, take account of weather warnings and expect to see some potentially disruptive conditions wherever you are.”
Motorists are being advised to travel carefully
PA
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has placed north-east England, north-west England and Yorkshire under a level three cold weather alert, with the rest of England at level two, until midnight on Thursday.
A level three alert means there is a 90% chance of severely cold weather, icy conditions or heavy snow, which could increase the health risk to vulnerable patients.
