Dozens of areas across the UK are under a yellow warning for snow and ice as the nation braces for an icy blast, with temperatures set to plummet as low as minus 16C.
A fresh amber snow warning was issued for southern England on Wednesday, joining alerts for Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, and the North-west.
Snow and sleet began to hit southern England this afternoon as the amber alert came into force with the Met Office saying further warnings are likely to be issued as the week goes on.
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Police in Devon and Cornwall have urged drivers to wait until the snow on Wednesday afternoon passes to carry out their journeys unless they are absolutely necessary.
Parts of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset are included in the amber snow warning, which is in place from 2.30pm until 9pm on Wednesday.
Overnight, temperatures are set to drop sharply, with lows of minus 14C possible in Scotland and northern England on Wednesday and sub-zero temperatures expected across the country.
Minimum temperatures of minus 16C could be reached on Thursday night, the Met Office said.
Oli Claydon, spokesman for the Met Office, told the PA news agency it will be “bitterly cold” on Thursday night.
He said the lowest temperatures will be recorded in rural Scotland and rural northern England where there is lying snow, cloudless skies and very cold airflow.
A temperature of minus 14C would equal the lowest seen in this month last year, recorded in Dalwhinnie in the Scottish Highlands on January 17 2024.
But a temperature of minus 16C would be the lowest recorded in January in the UK for 15 years, since minus 22.3C was logged in Altnaharra in the Highlands on January 8 2010, according to Met Office data.
Lows of minus 20C have not been reached since minus 23C was recorded at Braemar, Aberdeenshire, in February 2021.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has extended its cold weather health alert for all of England until Sunday.
Amber alerts issued on Thursday have been extended and will now run until January 12, meaning a rise in deaths is likely, the agency said.
More areas of the UK could sees snow on Thursday – with 30 regions within three separate snow or snow and ice Met Office warning areas.
A yellow warning for snow and ice is in place for Northern Ireland from 4pm on Wednesday until 11am on Thursday, and in northern Scotland from midday to midnight on Thursday.
A further yellow warning for snow and ice affecting Cornwall, much of Wales and parts of north-west England has also been issued from 3am until noon on Thursday.
The Met Office has warned that snow and icy patches in these areas could lead to some travel disruption. Below are all the 30 areas covered by the yellow warnings:
Areas covered by earlier snow and ice warning in Northern Ireland 11am Thursday
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County Antrim
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County Fermanagh
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County Londonderry
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County Tyrone
Areas covered by earlier snow and ice warning in Scotland until midnight on Thursday
Grampian
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Aberdeen
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Aberdeenshire
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Moray
Highlands & Eilean Siar
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Na h-Eileanan Siar
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Highland
Orkney & Shetland
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Orkney Islands
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Shetland Islands
The areas covered by the new Met Office warning until 12pm Thursday
North West England
South West England
Wales
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Carmarthenshire
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Ceredigion
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Conwy
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Denbighshire
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Flintshire
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Gwynedd
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Isle of Anglesey
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Pembrokeshire
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Powys
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Swansea
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Wrexham