Britain faces an icy start to 2017 as the freezing wintry showers are set to continue throughout the rest of the week.
A Government level-2 cold weather health alert is in place until tomorrow afternoon and Public Health England say that the cold conditions pose particular danger to the ‘elderly and vulnerable’ as forecasters predict a ‘colder than average’ January.
Thermometers started to drop yesterday as wintry showers began to hit.
The Met Office issued a severe weather warning for ice where rain during the day is expected to freeze overnight.
Forecasters have said temperatures could drop to lows of -5C in the south tonight and on Wednesday we could see widespread frosts.
Much of the country will struggle to get much above single figures during the day this week with some parts barely making it above 1 or 2C.
As the rain clears to the south it will be followed by a cold northerly airflow today which will persist throughout tomorrow.
While milder conditions may return to the north later tomorrow, it will remain cold in the south.
People are being urged to think about how the cold temperatures may affect friends, family and neighbours and in particular the elderly, the very young or anyone with any health conditions who may need a little extra help in the icy conditions.
Longer-range forecasters warn the cold weather could last through to the end of the month with a risk of more widespread snow.
James Madden, forecaster for Exacta Weather, said: “January is likely to be a much colder than average month overall and issues that come with prolonged cold spells such as frozen roads and pavements could become an issue as we see a freeze followed by a thaw before the process repeats.”
