Topcliffe in North Yorkshire the coldest place in England overnight

Topcliffe in North Yorkshire got down to minus 7.4C, making it the coldest in England according to figures provided by the Press Association (PA).

Drumnadrochit near Inverness in the Highlands hit minus 10.4C in the early hours of Thursday, making it the coldest recorded temperature of the year in the UK so far.

A series of yellow weather warnings for snow and ice from the Met Office came in as a major incident was declared in Somerset due to the risk of flooding.

A graphic from PA showing the cold temperatures (Image: PA)

Met Office forecaster, Marco Petagna, said: “Parts of north-west Scotland still have 34cm of snow lying, elsewhere this is around 9cm, and in sites across Northern Ireland we’ve got 7cm, and in Wales as well.

“The main thing elsewhere is frost and ice, showers are focused towards the north and west of the UK, so elsewhere a frosty and icy, but dry start.

“Lighter winds in the south on Thursday, so it’s not going to feel quite as raw, even though temperatures are still cold, there will be less of a wind chill effect.

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“Gradually it will turn less cold over the next few days, we hold onto it generally today and tomorrow, but into the weekend Atlantic air starts to come in, bringing temperatures up to double figures.”

A level three cold weather alert issued by the UK Health Security Agency, warning of conditions that “could increase the health risks to vulnerable patients and disrupt the delivery of services” is in place until 9am on Friday.