Mercury falls to minus 18C in Scottish hamlet as cold spell continues
Forecasters previously said there was a very small probability it could reach minus 19C.
The mercury fell again overnight with a hamlet in northern Scotland shivering through a temperature of minus 18C.
The Met Office said Altnaharra, which is in the most northern region of the Highlands, first recorded the temperature at 10pm Friday night, with the freezing conditions lasting well into Saturday morning.
It is the coldest January overnight temperature since 2010, when temperatures dropped below minus 15C several times at locations across the UK, including minus 22.3C on January 8 in Altnaharra.
Forecasters previously said there was a very small probability it could reach minus 19C.
Much of the UK endured below freezing temperatures overnight, with the mercury dropping to minus 11C in Shap, Cumbria and Heathrow recording minus 5C.
The average low in northern Scotland for this time of year is about 0.3C, while for England, overnight lows are around 1.5C to 1.6C.
Met Office meteorologist Zoe Hutin said Saturday is forecast to be cold too.
She said: “Temperatures for tomorrow night, it will be mainly eastern parts that see temperatures dropping widely below freezing, so East Anglia, the north-east of England, northern and eastern Scotland as well.
“So another chilly night to come on Saturday, but then as we go into Sunday and into Monday, then we can start to expect temperatures to recover somewhat.
“I won’t rule out the risk of seeing something around or just below freezing again on Sunday night into Monday, but it won’t be quite so dramatic as the temperatures that we’re going to experience as we go overnight tonight.”
Looking ahead to next week, she said: “We’re saying it’s getting milder but by no stretch does that mean (temperatures) are going to be above average – it just will feel comparatively much more pleasant than it is at the moment.”
The UK has experienced a “particularly long cold spell”, she said, adding: “It has been getting progressively colder each night this week, whereas looking at previous years, we’ve had maybe two or three days where things have been particularly cold.”
