BRITS have woken to an icy start to the weekend as temperatures dropped to -6C overnight.
Another cold night is predicted this evening, but forecasters say sunshine is on the way
Brits woke to an icy morning after temperatures dipped to -6C overnight
Freezing fog has caused the mercury to sink below freezing and another cold night is expected
Freezing fog has caused the mercury to take a dive going into the weekend but things are set to brighten up a bit.
The Met Office expect a mix of drizzle and sunshine today before temperatures tumble again.
Alex Deakin, a forecaster at the Met, said: “As well as the frost in the South, there could be some fog patches too which may linger into Saturday morning and as the wet weather clears there could just be some pockets of frost too across parts of Scotland developing.
“So temperatures really falling away across the South and the far north to freezing, and in rural spots, and actually well below across some parts of the South, it could get as low as -4C to -6C but in the central band where there is more cloud temperatures mostly holding up above freezing.”
However, beyond today sunny spells are predicted to give way to a band of heavy rain sweeping in from the Atlantic.
The Environment Agency has a total of 36 flood alerts or warnings in place.
Of these, nine are flood warnings, meaning that flooding is expected, and 27 are flood alerts, meaning it is possible.
The flood warnings cover areas from the Ebble Valley in Wiltshire to the Tarrant Valley in Dorset.
Predicted rainfall combined with already waterlogged ground is expected to cause groundwater flooding, where the water isn’t absorbed into the ground and pools on the surface.
The heaviest rain is expected in western Scotland tomorrow afternoon, with up to 8mm falling per hour in some parts.
This is set to be accompanied by high winds, reaching up to 53mph in Shetland.
A band of wet weather is then forecast to sweep down from the West throughout the afternoon, drenching the North West and North East.
By the evening it is set to soak Manchester and large parts of Wales, before beginning to dissipate.
However, South Wales and the South West are still expected to see some showers in the early hours of Monday morning.
The wet weather is predicted to move off the South Coast on Monday morning, before a new wave of rain hits Northern Ireland and western Scotland again in the afternoon.
Most of the country is then forecast to see heavy showers throughout Tuesday, giving way to unsettled weather later in the week.
The Met Office forecast for Monday to Wednesday reads: “Unsettled with rain or showers, mainly across the North while the South sees more in the way of dry weather. Often windy, especially across Scotland on Tuesday. Mostly mild.”
Met meteorologist Alex Burkhill added: “The daytime tomorrow could see some high temperatures, with 12c or 13C in parts of Scotland, which is unusual for January.
High winds and severe gales are expected going into Monday, while Tuesday and Wednesday could be very windy in Scotland and the North. The winds aren’t unusual for this time of year but could be potentially disruptive.”
Sunny spells are expected in most parts between the night time chills
However, these are predicted to give way to heavy rain into next week
Some flooding is expected as the Environment Agency has 36 flood warnings or alerts active
