UK weather: Milder days ahead after Britain has been 'colder than Moscow'

Overnight temperatures will be up and down over the next few days ranging from -4 to 4

Weather across the UK will be 'varying' this week, with temperatures rising above and plunging below freezing (Reuters)

Britain has been colder than Moscow as temperatures plunged below freezing this weekend to as low as -5.9 degrees Celsius, but now the UK is set for “varying” weather as temperatures rise and drop between mild and freezing.

The Met Office issued a weather warning for Hampshire and West Sussex for Sunday morning as people woke up to an icy start, with rain falling onto surfaces already below freezing, causing concern around patches of ice on the roads for drivers.

Temperatures across Britain will generally feel milder on Sunday however, as a band of rain works its way eastwards across the country. This will give way to clearer spells and cause much milder temperatures overnight than the UK has experienced in recent days, with only a few parts of the country dropping below freezing.

Northwest Scotland will see the coldest weather tonight however, where snow could start falling around midnight as showers turn wintery, giving way to icy stretches in rural areas on Monday morning, as temperatures drop to around -2 degrees in the very exposed far north.

A Met Office spokesperson said “we’re going to have a varying weather pattern through the course of the coming week,” where Monday night’s temperatures are expected to drop as low as -4 in places across the highlands in Scotland and the north east of England, but Tuesday night is expected to feel milder again with lows of 4 degrees.

Wednesday is expected to feel particularly mild as temperatures climb well above average for this part of December, with London and the South West reaching as high as 13 degrees during the day. Average temperatures for this part of the year are around 7 degrees in the south.

But temperatures will not drop as low as last week, where most of the UK experienced nights below freezing, with Frittenden in West Kent feeling a crisp -5.9 degrees on Saturday night, one of the coldest nights this winter.

The Met Office said the plummeting overnight temperatures in the UK have been “colder than Moscow, which has been a bit milder than usual at around 2 degrees overnight” in recent days.