UK faces coldest January night in 14 years

Tuesday could be the coldest January night since 2010, the Met Office has warned.

Temperatures may drop to freezing lows of -15C in parts of Scotland, according to the forecaster.

Bitter conditions and significant snowfall have already forced schools to shut in Scotland and northern England, and sparked travel disruption.

Yellow warnings for ice and snow are in force in all four UK nations, before possible stormy weather this weekend.

By the end of Friday, more than 40cm of snow may be seen on high ground in north-west Scotland, as wintry weather continues, the Met Office has forecast.

Snow, sleet and rain are expected to continue blanketing northern parts of the UK, though there will be some sunshine. Heavy frosts and freezing conditions are likely across virtually the entire country, with experts warning of treacherous pavements and roads.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Met Office posted on social media: “Tonight could be the coldest January night for 14 years with temperatures possibly falling as low as -15C in snow covered parts of Scotland”.

BBC Weather’s Chris Fawkes echoed the position, adding on Tuesday evening: “It’s already a very cold night with a widespread frost, temperatures in the coldest areas have already reached -8C, but could reach as low as -15C in the coldest spot later.

“This would make it the coldest night of the winter.”

The lowest temperature so far this winter was -12.5C, in Altnaharra, in early December. In January 2010, -22.3C was recorded in the same Scottish Highlands hamlet.

Scotland is expected to see the worst of the weather, with up to 10cm (almost four inches) of snow falling on higher ground.

The UK Health Security Agency issued an amber cold weather warning for England this week, meaning the NHS is expected to come under extra pressure and elderly people may be more at risk.

Icy winds blowing in from the Arctic this week have seen temperatures fall 5C to 6C below the average for this time of year.

The Met Office has issued two yellow weather warnings for Wednesday. They are:

Three more yellow warnings for snow and ice cover most of Northern Ireland, northern Wales, northern England and all of Scotland on Wednesday.