Britons brace for what could be the coldest night of the year as temperatures plunge

Widespread frost and freezing temperatures are expected on Friday morning

A dog walker out in Hyde Park on Thursday morning amid widespread frost across London. (AFP via Getty Images)

The country could be facing its coldest night of the year, or even the winter, tonight as temperatures plunge to -4C and may sink even lower.

Britons will be waking up to widespread frost on Friday morning, with the Dorset and Monmouth experiencing the lowest temperatures, according to the Met Office weather map.

The north west of England experienced a chill on Thursday, with the mercury plunging to as low as - 4C in some areas.

A spokesperson for the Met Office, Richard Miles, said: “High pressure is in charge over the UK, and a cold front moving south yesterday has preceded the influence of a northerly air mass.

“This will bring below average temperatures of many toady, particularly in the south of the UK, but largely clear skies will mean it still feels quite pleasant from most areas.

“Tonight will bring a widespread sharp frost and some places might see their coldest night of 2022 so far.”

Another meteorologist at the Met Office, Aidan McGivern, backed up these predictions, saying: “It’ll be perhaps the coldest night of the winter for some southern parts of the country.”

The UK Health and Security Agency alerted people in central and southern England to look out for vulnerable people as temperatures fall.

The Met Office prediction for tonight’s weather said the skies would be “dry and clear for the most with light winds”.

Widespread frost is to be expected for much of England, Wales and southern Scotland, while the north and the northwest will be protected from the worst of the chill because of cloud cover in the region.

The BBC weather centre said: “High pressure will dominate over the coming days, keeping conditions mostly dry and settled.”

They predicted that Saturday will be a “dry day with plenty of sunshine”, where as Sunday will be cloudier with a few sunny spells.