Temperatures fell dramatically on Thursday night with some parts of rural Scotland reaching -12C (Picture: Danny Lawson/PA Wire)
The UK has experienced its coldest night of the year as temperatures plunged to -12C in areas.
Schools and roads are expected to be disrupted by the sub-zero arctic blast on Friday with wintry hazards like frost and icy roads to go on.
The cold northerly airstream will also bring snow showers and icy patches after thundersnow struck parts of the north east.
Thundersnow occurs when heavy rainfall usually associated with a thunderstorm instead comes down as snow due to colder temperatures.
The heavy snowfall, accompanied by the thunder and lightning typically seen and heard during storms, is called ‘thundersnow’.
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It is so rare because the phenomenon can only occur in certain months of the year when it is coldest.
Temperatures fell dramatically again on Thursday night with some parts of rural Scotland reaching -12C. Other parts of the UK reached below freezing.
Some parts of Scotland and northern England will reach -2C this morning (Picture: Metro)
Forecaster Simon Partridge said: ‘It does look like we will have the coldest night of this winter so far, widely areas are below freezing.
‘And the main reason for that is we’ve got a little ridge of high pressure moving across the UK overnight tonight and basically the main difference between that and previous nights is the winds are a lot lighter.’
Mr Partridge said that much of the country will see frost in the morning but that later in the day there is expected to be widespread sunshine.
He added: ‘Friday is really the end of the really cold weather as things turn back to average by the time we get into the weekend.”
An Amber Cold Health Alert issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) also remains in force – focusing on impacts for health and social care in England.
For many, today will be dry with temperatures gradually turning milder and rain reaching the west later in the day.
Ahead of the weekend the Met Office said it expects a shift to milder, more unsettled, Atlantic-driven weather.
Ice warnings remain in place (Picture: Metro)
This will bring cloud, rain and some stronger winds at times but also a reduction in the wintry hazards that the country has experienced this week.
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‘We are keeping an eye on Wales and the Midlands, where saturated ground conditions may increase the likelihood of low impacts,’ said the Met Office.
‘Conditions will remain on the chilly side, although temperatures will gradually edge back towards more typical values for the time of year.
‘As we head into next week, a gradual settling trend is expected; north to northeasterly winds will confine rain and showers increasingly to eastern areas, whilst cooler air arriving in the north may allow some wintriness to develop in the extreme north of the country by the end of Monday.’
A car is rescued from the snow on the North York Moors (Picture: Danny Lawson/PA Wire)
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