UK weather maps show -3C freeze as temperatures plunge in May | UK | News
Weather maps in the UK have turned icy blue as forecasters warned temperatures could drop to -3C in parts of the country within days. New WXCharts maps, based on the latest ECMWF data, show a sharp cold snap will develop overnight in northern Britain early next week, with frost likely in some rural areas despite the recent impact of warm spring sunshine.
Graphs for 6am on Sunday 10 May show minimum temperatures falling below freezing across large parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Northern England. The coldest areas in the Scottish Highlands will see temperatures drop to around -3C, while much of Scotland is expected to wake up to temperatures between -1C and 2C.
Elsewhere, northern England is expected to see low temperatures of around 1 to 3 degrees; Parts of Wales and the Midlands will also experience a noticeably colder start to the day. Southern England remains milder, with night temperatures mostly hovering between 6 and 12 degrees.
A second WXCharts map showing temperature anomalies compared to the 1991-2020 climate average highlights widespread below-average conditions across much of the UK.
Scotland and northern England are shaded in dark blue; This suggests temperatures were a few degrees cooler than normal for early May.
Maps suggest that colder conditions will be most pronounced in rural hinterlands, where clear skies and lighter winds allow temperatures to drop rapidly overnight.
Urban centers and coastal areas are expected to remain slightly milder.
Despite the risk of freezing overnight, daytime conditions are still expected to remain relatively positive in many areas, particularly in southern Britain where sunshine may help temperatures recover to mid-to-high temperatures.
WXCharts forecasts show colder air spreading south across the UK, leading to a sharp drop in overnight temperatures by the end of the week.
The coldest conditions are expected to be around dawn on Sunday, with temperatures gradually recovering later in the day, according to WXCharts forecasts.
The cold weather follows unusually hot and dry weather in several parts of the UK in the opening days of May, which pushed temperatures above seasonal averages.
