Snow and ice warnings continue after winter’s coldest nighton January 18, 2024 at 11:33 am

An amber warning for heavy snow is in place in Scotland after most of the UK had the coldest night of winter so far.

Frequent snow showers on Thursday will affect northern Scotland, threatening more disruption.

Yellow warnings for ice and snow are also in place in all four UK nations.

While the lowest temperature did not beat Tuesday’s low of -14C in Dalwhinnie in the Scottish Highlands, temperatures taken as a whole made Wednesday night the coldest of winter.

On Wednesday night, temperatures dropped to:

In Scotland, where hundreds of schools have been closed, the temperature dipped as low as -13.6C, the second lowest UK temperature this winter.

The Met Office recorded the provisional figure in Tulloch Bridge in the Highlands.

On Tuesday night the mercury fell to -14C in Dalwhinnie in the Scottish Highlands, making it the coldest January night since 2019.

On Thursday the bitterly cold Arctic air will stay with us and as well as giving snow in northern Scotland.

There will be some wintry showers in parts of Northern Ireland, north and west Wales, eastern England and maybe parts of the south-west.

An amber warning is in place for the Shetland Islands and far north of Scotland until 18:00 GMT on Thursday.

There will be more snow showers and some pretty brisk winds there so travel in particular will be quite difficult.

The Met Office has also issued some yellow weather warnings. They are:

While Thursday night will be another cold night with a widespread frost, it is not expected to be as cold as Tuesday or Wednesday night as slightly milder air comes in from the west.

In Northern Ireland, non-major roads will not be gritted due to a strike, and motorists are being urged to take care given the icy weather.

All schools remain closed in Orkney and in Shetland, where many have been shut since Monday.

In Aberdeenshire, almost all schools are closed. South of the border eight schools have closed in Lancashire.

National Rail have also warned wintry weather could affect train journeys on Thursday.

The UK Health Security Agency has issued an amber cold weather alert for England this week, meaning the NHS is expected to come under extra pressure and elderly people or those with underlying health conditions may be more at risk.

The cold spell has resulted in automatic £25 payments for households in receipt of certain benefits being triggered in more than 220 postcodes.

The payments are made in areas where temperatures are, or are forecast to be, below zero for seven consecutive days.

Our top tips as cold weather continues

Alongside the snow and ice, a risk of flooding also persists for some parts.

As of 09:30 on Thursday, there were 13 flood warnings – meaning flooding is likely – and 62 flood alerts – meaning flooding is possible – in England.

Over the weekend the UK will see much milder Atlantic air coming in along with rain and strong winds.

There is a Met Office yellow warning for wind for Sunday affecting many northern and western parts of the UK with the potential for gusts up to 60-70mph. This could cause some travel disruption and power cuts.

Temperatures will rise up to 7C to 12C on Sunday.

Find out the weather forecast for your area, with an hourly breakdown and a 14-day lookahead, by downloading the BBC Weather app: Apple – Android – Amazon

The BBC Weather app is only available to download in the UK.

How have you been affected by the cold weather? Share your experiences, pictures and videos by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:

If you are reading this page and can’t see the form, you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.