Weather set to turn 'bitterly cold' as mercury to plummet to minus 16C in parts of Scotland

The Met Office said it would turn ‘bitterly cold’

The temperature could plummet to minus 16C in parts of Scotland on Thursday night, forecasters have warned, as some schools remained shut for a second day.

The Met Office has warned of travel disruption caused by snow and said some vehicles and passengers could become stranded.

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Power cuts are likely, the national weather service said, and delays and cancellations to rail and air travel are also expected.

A sudden drop in temperature is expected for Wednesday night, with lows of minus 14C possible in northern Scotland and northern England and sub-zero temperatures expected across the country.

A yellow "be aware" warning for snow and ice has been put in place for north and north-east Scotland until midnight on Thursday. The Met Office said the latest warning includes a forecast for snow accumulating to 3-7 cm at low levels, with 10-15 cm possible above 150m.

Oli Claydon, spokesman for the Met Office, warned it will be “bitterly cold” on Thursday night.

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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 8 January, 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.

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Scotland has experienced freezing conditions in recent days.Scotland has experienced freezing conditions in recent days.
Scotland has experienced freezing conditions in recent days.

On Wednesday, 54 schools and 39 nurseries in the Highlands were closed while in Aberdeenshire nine schools were shut and many had delayed openings due to the weather.

However, warmer weather is expected by the end of the weekend.

Mr Claydon said the weather will get gradually milder over the next few days.

“Certainly by the end of the weekend we’re moving to a milder air mass and it’ll slowly get introduced across the UK through Sunday,” he said.

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“By Monday, the UK will broadly be in a milder air mass and we’ll see some rain moving in from the North West into parts of western Scotland and potentially Northern Ireland as well.”

Car insurer RAC said it has seen the highest levels of demand for rescues in a three-day period since December 2022.

“Cold conditions will last until at least the weekend, so we urge drivers to remain vigilant of the risks posed by ice and, in some locations, snow,” said RAC breakdown spokeswoman Alice Simpson.

“Black ice on rural roads can be impossible to spot, leaving very little time to react if driving at speed. Sticking to major roads that are most likely to have been gritted is strongly recommended.”

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