Temperatures rise as cold snap ends

The UK can expect typical autumnal conditions today after the Arctic snap which brought snow and freezing temperatures to much of the country was swept away by warmer, wet weather.

Many woke yesterday morning to find a blanket of snow covering the ground, but this was quickly replaced by rain which has led to a slow rise in temperature.

Today is expected to be cold and blustery with strong northerly winds, forecasters said.

MeteoGroup UK, the weather division of the Press Association, said most places will see some sunny spells but there will also be showers, particularly in coastal areas.

For much of the weekend, snow and freezing temperatures combined to create hazardous driving conditions across the country.

Gritters were out in force as the Highways Agency battled to keep major road routes open.

The Met Office had issued a series of severe weather warnings for large swathes of the UK as an Arctic weather front deposited six centimetres of snow in parts of rural Lincolnshire and led to temperatures plummeting to minus 6 Celsius in Oxfordshire yesterday.

Trafficlink reported 40 weather-related incidents across the UK since Friday, with the majority being road closures due to the snow.

But last night temperatures increased as rain and wet, windy weather replaced the snowfall.

All the severe weather warnings are now removed and the Highways Agency reported that traffic was running normally on major routes.

A spokeswoman for Trafficlink said the majority of weather-related incidents were restricted to the Grampians in Scotland.

The A939 and two B roads, all in Aberdeenshire, remained closed last night due to snow.

Yesterday a short stretch of the M62 in Greater Manchester was temporarily closed due to the adverse weather conditions.

The cold snap prompted charity Age Concern to remind older people to take extra care to stay warm.

And the cold front coupled with unheralded snowfall in parts of the south east last month led bookmakers William Hill to slash the odds of a white Christmas in London from 8/1 to 6/1.