Met Office warns of icy conditions overnight as temperatures drop to near zero
A yellow warning for ice is in place for north-east England and east Scotland from 9pm on Thursday.
Wintry showers and ice-cold temperatures are forecast overnight after parts of England were dusted with snow on Thursday.
Met Office meteorologists have issued a yellow weather warning for ice on Thursday night, covering north-eastern areas of England and eastern Scotland, including the Shetland Islands.
The warning, which means icy surfaces could disrupt travel and cause injuries from slips and falls, is in place from 9pm until 10am on Friday.
A separate yellow warning for snow and ice also covers a small pocket of south-east England from midnight until 10am on Friday.
Overnight temperatures are due to settle just a few degrees above zero for most areas, with 2C (35.6F) predicted for London and Edinburgh.
Devon and Cornwall are set to see the warmest temperature of 6C (42.8F), with the coolest of 1C (33.8F) forecast for Aberdeenshire and North Yorkshire.
This follows last week’s sunshine when the mercury hit 20C (68F) in some places.
Weekend temperatures are predicted to remain in the single figures too.
The mercury is forecast to reach highs of 7C (44.6F) and 8C (46.4F) across the UK on Friday and Saturday, increasing to 9C (48.2F) and 10C (50F) on Sunday.
Sunny spells with some cloud are predicted for the rest of England, Scotland and Wales, with a largely cloudy day all round on Sunday.
Meteorologist Matty Box said there is a “cold air mass” over the UK.
“There is an ice warning out at the moment,” he said. “If there’s any melting and refreezing overnight then there’s an ice risk.
“I suspect there will be a similar risk for Thursday night to Friday morning.”
Discussing Friday’s weather, he added: “It will be concentrated and there will be snow showers.
“It will be eastern and northern areas of the UK that are more likely to see any showers of rain, sleet or snow.”
The weather will then improve over the weekend, with some sunny spells.
“Showers will become less frequent, but still with the chance of some wintry showers in the east coast and the North Sea coast in particular through Saturday,” Mr Box said.
“There should be a fair amount of sunshine as well.”
In Canterbury, Kent, snow saw a county cricket warm-up match between Lancashire and Kent suspended and then cancelled on Thursday.
