Plunging temperatures bring fresh snow

Temperatures fell to minus 6C (21.2F) overnight, bringing more snow and ice to Britain today.

But forecasters said the cold snap would not immediately be as severe as the December and January big chill.

A series of wintry showers swept over central and eastern Britain from the North Sea, bringing rain, sleet and snow to many places.

The west was colder overnight, with sub-zero conditions experienced in many places from Cornwall and Devon, Wales and into western Scotland.

The lowest temperature of minus 6C (21.2F) was recorded near Aberystwyth in Mid Wales.

That led to warnings about possible icy patches on the roads in the west, which has been largely dry for the past few days.

The unsettled picture of sunny spells and wintry showers was not expected to cause heavy snowfalls, except in Kent when a series of them could follow one another, bringing deeper-lying snow.

Brendan Jones, senior forecaster with Meteogroup UK, the weather division of the Press Association, said the weather pattern would stay for the rest of the working week.

"Largely, we will continue to see showers coming in from the east," he said.

"Day time temperatures will be above speaking, around 2C-5C (35.6F-41F) for the rest of the week.

"It will be staying fairly chilly, but not the severe chill we saw in December and January.

"The exception will be in Kent when a series of random showers could align themselves in a 'train'."

Looking at the longer term, Mr Jones said there was a risk of heavier snowfalls returning next week.