Temperatures plunge as low as -6 in final cold winter blast after torrential rain sparks flood fears

The cold weather comes as a low-pressure weather system strikes the UK today.

NetWeather’s Terry Scholey said: “At this time of year, there is a tendency for low-pressure systems to take a more southerly track as they approach Britain, pushing our traditional Atlantic westerlies into lower latitudes.

“An approaching depression is doing precisely that today, moving into the Southwest approaches before ending up across northern France tomorrow.

“Raw east or northeast winds on the northern flank of these lows can result in wintry weather across the UK, but on this occasion, it will be rain rather than snow.

“However, there is a forecasting headache as to how far north across southern parts the rain will come before the depression moves away onto the nearby continent.”

A yellow warning is in place for rain from the Met Office.

It covers the South West from 6am to 6pm on Sunday and suggests there could be downpours of up to 40mm in few places.
The warning says: “Rain is expected to move north-eastwards across parts of south-west England on Sunday morning,

persisting through much of the day before slowly dying out later in the afternoon.”

It adds that 15mm to 25mm of rain is “likely quite widely” and up to 40mm in a few places, and that “with saturated ground, this may lead to some flooding and disruption”.

“Wet and windy weather in the southwest will gradually spread to other southern areas,” according to the national weather service, adding that it would be “feeling cold underneath the rain”.

Temperatures on Monday are set to be average, reaching between 6 and 10 degrees celsius. But the chilly conditions will settle in overnight.

“For much of the country, there’ll be some sunshine, with the north and west, in particular, feeling quite pleasant into the afternoon in lighter breezes under a ridge of high pressure.

“Despite a frost and a few fog patches here at first and the chilly wind further east and south, temperatures should reach 6°C to 10°C again,” Scholey said.

Turning to Monday night, he added: “There’ll be clear spells, and with light winds, a frost and patchy fog will develop as temperatures fall to -1 to -3C, but perhaps as low as -5 or -6C in the coldest spots.

“The exception will be Scotland where a freshening South West wind will be bringing milder air but also some rain to the North and West later.

“And as we come to the end of meteorological winter, the outlook remains unsettled and windy at times, but it’ll continue to be mostly mild into the new month.”