UK weather: ‘Arctic trough’ brings snow and freezing temperatures to Britain after mini-heatwave

Met Office says colder weather has been brought on by change of wind direction

The UK is facing a “bitterly cold” day with temperatures expected to be up to 11C lower than earlier in the Easter weekend, as the country enters an “Arctic trough” this week.

Yellow weather warnings have been issued for snow, ice and wind in parts of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on Monday and Tuesday, with parts of the UK expected to see temperatures drop to as low as -7C overnight.

The Met Office said highs of 17.9C were recorded in Pershore, Worcestershire, on Easter Sunday, but that the town was predicted to see temperatures of just 7C on Monday.

“There’ll be a drop of 11 degrees between one day and the next, so you will definitely notice it,” Simon Partridge, a Met Office forecaster, said.

He added that the chilly weather had been brought on by a change of wind direction.

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“The air we had on Sunday came in from the south so it’s pretty mild having come off the continent,” Mr Partridge said.

“Overnight we’ll see a cold front moving southward across the country, it’s already across northern Scotland, and it’ll push its way southward overnight.

“That will introduce much, much colder air across the whole country.”

Videos on social media showed snowfall in parts of Lancashire, Scotland and Yorkshire on Monday morning.

There were also reports online of snow in parts of Derbyshire, London and Northumberland.

In northern Scotland, where snow warnings are in place, there could be as much as 15cm falling in higher areas, while other areas will see snowfall of 1cm to 2cm.

The Met Office has said that while snow showers will largely be seen in the North and North West, they could occur almost anywhere in the UK early in the week.

Average temperatures for this time of year are between 10C and 12C but the colder weather will come as a surprise for some people, as parts of the UK saw the mercury reach nearly 24C during a mini-heatwave last week.

Additional reporting by PA