Temperatures set to plummet again

Temperatures struggled to rise above freezing across much of the UK after Britain endured its coldest night of the winter.

The mercury plummeted to just under minus 18C (minus 0.4F), according to forecasters, as families setting off on half-term getaways were warned of "deceptively dangerous" road conditions.

And many places stayed below freezing throughout Saturday, with sporting fixtures cancelled due to the record-breaking cold snap. Saturday night is likely to be another bitter night, but the cold spell seems to be coming to an end, with temperatures due to rise slowly next week, forecasters said.

Paul Knightley, forecaster for MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "We had the coldest night of the winter last night. The temperature in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, got as low as minus 18.3C (minus 0.94F)."

Extremely low temperatures were recorded in other areas across the country, as low as minus 15.6C (3.92F) in Holbeach, Lincolnshire, and minus 11C (12.2F) in Charnwood, Surrey, he said.

The Met Office said it had probably been the coldest night in England since December 2010 with temperatures widely below minus 10C (14F) across Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.

Mr Knightley said the mercury had struggled to rise above freezing throughout Saturday, despite some sunshine.

"At 3pm this afternoon the temperature at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk was still minus 5.3C (22.46F) and that's the highest it's been all day, at lunchtime it was minus 8.1C (17.42F)," he said. "At RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire it was minus 9.1C (15.62F) and up to minus 5C (23F)."

The weather wreaked havoc with the sporting calendar after a number of matches and racing fixtures fell victim to frozen conditions. A number of matches are also expected to be affected on Sunday, including the opening round of rugby league's Northern Rail Cup.

Mr Knightley said snow was beginning to slowly disappear in some areas and although the cold spell is coming to an end, it could take some time. He said: "Some places will see a dramatic change in temperature but it may not be something people necessarily notice because they have been so low."

Saturday night will see "bitterly cold" temperatures for the first part of the night, but the latter part will see cloud spreading down the country from the north, bringing a rise in temperature.

"What we are going to see when that cloud comes down is some patchy drizzle and light snow," he said.

"It's very, very light stuff. The snow itself is not going to be near the amounts we have seen but there will be some drizzle which will fall on to very cold ground so we will see the risk of some ice, especially in untreated areas."

He said many areas could expect fog on Sunday night, adding: "By Monday morning it may well be very grey and foggy in some places but not much frost around."

A "yellow" severe weather warning instructing people to "be aware" of ice on roads has been issued by the Met Office for Sunday for the the East Midlands, east of England, London and south east England.

British Gas said it was on red alert for the second weekend running, expecting 47,000 calls - a similar number to last weekend, but a sharp rise on the 20,000 it normally gets.

A spokesman said last weekend British Gas engineers worked 4,064 extra hours and it has already arranged an extra 3,900 hours for this weekend, the majority in London and the South East.