UK weather: Snow, ice and rain to batter UK before temperatures jump

The UK must endure one more day of bitterly cold weather – but there’s light at the end of the tunnel, with temperatures to soar by 15°C in 24 hours.

Don’t go outside unless you have to today, with yellow warnings for snow, ice and rain issued across much of the UK.

The Met Office has also set an amber warning for ice which covers north-east and north-west England, East Midlands, West Midlands and Yorkshire and Humber from 9am to 8pm.

A level three cold weather alert was issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) for all of England until midnight on Sunday, which it warns could ‘increase the health risks to vulnerable patients and disrupt the delivery of services’.

Drivers have been warned of treacherous travel conditions and road closures, with an ice build-up of 2-3mm.

But, in an odd turn of events, the cold snap will be immediately replaced with warmer weather.

Daytime maximum temperatures on Monday will range from 11C to 14°C – in stark contrast to the chilly ones recorded over the last week.

The big jump is due to milder air coming in from the Atlantic, rather than coming down from the Arctic.

Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna said: ‘At the moment daytime temperatures are low single figures, and in places are staying below freezing under snow cover, so some areas are just a little bit below zero.

‘But daytime temperatures by Monday, we’re looking at across the UK highs of 11°C to 14°C, so around about 15 degrees certainly higher than they’ve been.’

Mr Petagna added that it is not unheard of to get temperatures in the low teens at this time of year, but said the contrast of going from very cold to very mild in a day or two is quite unusual.

Some spots around the country have recorded lows of minus 10°C to minus 15°C across the last week.

On Tuesday, the mercury plunged to minus 17.3°C in Braemar in Scotland – the coldest temperature since February 11 2021.