UK weather: Temperatures to plummet to -3C as cold snap hits UK

Met Office forecasts ‘chilly’ temperatures overnight in final days of April

The Met Office is forecasting rural frost forming overnight in final days of April (AFP via Getty Images)

Temperatures could drop as low as -3C in parts of the UK in the coming days as a cold snap sweeps across the country.

The Met Office said it is likely to be “chilly” overnight in the run-up to May, with rural frost setting in some areas.

But while temperatures could drop below freezing during the night to as low as -3C, the daytime is forecast to bring mainly dry weather with sunny spells.

Richard Miles from the Met Office told The Independent that colder air coming from the north was “keeping temperatures down a bit”.

He said the forecasts for the final days of the month were “not particularly extraordinary” but were below average.

The Met Office spokesperson said temperatures could drop below freezing on Monday night in the Welsh mountains and rural England, while the coldest temperatures of -1C are forecast in the Highlands.

Over the next week, Mr Miles said the coldest temperatures were likely to hit on Tuesday or Wednesday, dropping to as low as -3C in rural areas of Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England.

The forecaster said the weather was being affected by high pressure in the north.

“Especially in the eastern parts of the UK, it's feeling a little bit chilly in that breeze. And the high pressure is also keeping that kind of cloud cover away at night at times, so that will let the temperatures drop,” he said.

The Met Office has forecast a mix of cloudy and sunny weather on Tuesday, with the best of the sunshine in southern and western areas.

Cloudy weather is forecast to continue to the east throughout the week as the rest of the country enjoys spells of sunshine.

Mr Miles said day temperatures are forecast to stay in the mid-teens in the run-up to May.

It comes after the UK enjoyed similar temperatures over the weekend, following on from an Easter weekend heatwave that saw the hottest day of the year so far on Good Friday.