UK weather and snow forecast: Tonight could be winter's coldest yet as Met Office warns of another chaotic day on roads and railways

Temperatures may fall to -16C

Wintry weather is set to intensify across Britain this weekend, causing more travel chaos as temperatures continue to plummet.

Saturday night may be the coldest of the season so far, with temperatures of -16C possible in parts of Scotland.

"If it falls below -15.8C, it will be the coldest night since 2010," said Simon Partridge, a forecaster from the Met Office.

Subzero temperatures have caused chaos across the country in recent days and disruption on the roads, railways and at airports is likely to continue over the weekend, the Met Office has warned.

"Over Saturday we'll see some snow showers around the far north, the far west and the far east of the UK," Alex Burkill, a meteorologist at the Met Office said.

"Elsewhere it's a cold day again and feeling especially cold in the south where it will be breezy, but for most it will be dry and sunny.

"Saturday night is likely to be very similar to Thursday night - we could get down to minus 16C (3.2F) in Scotland, but it's worth bearing in mind that even across the south we could get into negative double figures."

Temperatures in Shap, Cumbria dipped to a low of -8.3C early on Saturday.

A yellow warning for snow and ice covering large areas of the UK will remain in place until noon on Saturday as the big freeze intensifies.

It covers northern Scotland, most of Northern Ireland, the eastern coast of England, the south of England and the west coast of Wales.

Snow and sleet are expected to cause further travel disruption for weekend drivers and commuters, with the Met Office warning that delays should be expected on road, rail and bus services.

Drivers in Kent were left stranded until the early hours of Saturday morning on the A229 and A249 after heavy sleet and snow fell in the area.

Kent Police said that falling trees and snowfall had also created "treacherous conditions" on the A21.

Conditions will improve across the weekend, Mr Partridge said, with most of the country waking up to "dry and bright" conditions on Sunday, although temperatures will remain low.

"There will be some hill snow, particularly in Scotland but there will be highs of 10C in the south west," he said.

Although a yellow weather warning is in place for snow and ice for Scotland on Monday, the forecaster said that milder conditions would prevail next week.

"It will be unsettled from Monday onwards but milder," he said.

Additional reporting by agencies