UK’s coldest January night in 15 years

The UK has experienced a “particularly long cold spell” says a Met Office meteorologist, with nights becoming “progressively colder” unlike previous years with a short cold snap. Not exactly what we were led to believe by climate models that the advance of global warming, supposedly due to assorted human activities (industry, transport, power generation, farming etc.), was going to deliver.
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Temperatures in a hamlet in northern Scotland dropped to -18.7C on Friday – the UK’s coldest January night in 15 years, reports BBC News.

The mercury in Altnaharra, which is in the most northern region of the Highlands, plummeted at around 22:00 GMT, the Met Office said.

It is the coldest January overnight temperature since 2010, when temperatures dropped below -15C several times at locations across the UK, including -22.3C on 8 January in Altnaharra.

The average low in northern Scotland for this time of year is about 0.3C, while for England, overnight lows are about 1.5C to 1.6C.
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Meanwhile, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has extended its cold weather health alert for all of England until Tuesday.

Amber alerts have been extended and will now run until 14 January, meaning a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions, is likely, the agency said.
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What is forecast for the weekend?
Much of the UK endured below freezing temperatures into Saturday morning, with -11C recorded in Shap, Cumbria, and Heathrow recording -5C.

Met Office meteorologist Alex Deakin said: “Friday night into Saturday morning may well be the nadir of this current cold spell.”

Saturday is forecast to be cold too, and Met Office meteorologist Zoe Hutin said “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.”

High pressure is set to build across the UK over the weekend, leading to a significant thaw of snow and ice by Sunday and ushering in a warmer start to the new week.

Temperatures will slowly start to recover across western fringes of the UK, with central and eastern parts still likely to remain cold on Saturday and Sunday.
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The UK has experienced a “particularly long cold spell”, Ms Hutin 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.”

Full report BBC Newshere.
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Image: BBC weather forecast