Bank holiday weather: Monday to bring freezing weather as temperatures plummet

Icy air flows south from Arctic, bringing patches of frost and some sleet

Freezing temperatures have beckoned in one of the chilliest starts to an early May bank holiday on record.

Temperatures dropped as low as -4.3C as icy air flowed southwards from the Arctic.

Parts of Scotland were left with patches of frost and some sleet over high ground.

The minimum was recorded at Katesbridge in Co Down, while a low of -2.4C was seen at Shap in Cumbria, -1.7C in Sennybridge, Brecknockshire, and -1C at Loch Glascarnoch in the Highlands.

The lowest recorded temperature for the early May bank holiday Monday was -5.9C on 7 May, 2012, at Kinbrace in Sutherland.

Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge said: “We’re stuck between high pressure to the west of us and low pressure to the east, which is giving us northerly winds – it’s drawing air straight down from the Arctic.”

Temperatures are expected to peak at 14C or 15C in the south on Monday afternoon.

However, northern parts will struggle to see double digits as a band of rain pushes towards the south and east.

“It’s going to be fairly chilly during the day, below average for the time of year, but it’s not going to be too bad and the wind’s going to be light,” Mr Partridge said.

“It will be generally dry, although there is a band of showery rain that’s going to slowly move its way from Scotland southwards through parts of Northern Ireland and northern England then eventually into parts of East Anglia.

“That will make it feel a bit cooler through there, but either side of it will generally be dry and bright with sunny spells.

“It will stay mostly dry in the south, where it will be warmest, so Wales and much of southern England will be fine.”

Additional reporting by PA