UK weather: Cold snap fades with temperatures hitting 14C – but forecasters issue yellow warning for rain
The UK’s cold snap has subsided after weeks of freezing temperatures, ice and snow – but weather experts are warning of heavy rain to come.
Temperatures hit 13C (55F) in parts of the south of England and Wales on Monday morning, with highs of 14C (57F) expected in London, Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff later today.
That’s a significant increase on what was seen last week, with daytime temperatures struggling to get above freezing and night temperatures falling well below zero.
Braemar in Scotland endured -17.3C on Tuesday, while snow fell across London and parts of the south of England last week.
But the swing from freezing to almost spring-like temperatures comes with more meteorological mayhem.
The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for rain across southern parts of England and south Wales until 6am on Tuesday.
It said there could be flooding for homes and businesses, as well as roads, causing travel disruption.
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Meanwhile, the Environment Agency has also put in place three more flood warnings in place, for Alfriston and Horsebridge in East Sussex and Mock Bridge in West Sussex, overnight.
A total of 13 flood warnings are now in place across England.
Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said: “It’s also worth bearing in mind that, preceding this obviously it was so cold, so the grounds were a bit frozen, drains may have been frozen in places.
“As a result their ability to cope with the rainfall may have been reduced, so that’s why we could see some greater impacts which is why the warning was issued.
“Monday night into Tuesday, for most it’s going to be a lot milder than it has been of late but we could still see a touch of frost particularly in parts of Scotland.
“And then Tuesday, I think it’s going to be a little bit colder again compared to Monday. So the really mild day, Monday, is a flash in the pan if you will.”
The leap in temperatures could also cause some pipes to burst as water thaws – as seen in parts of London this week when 60 firefighters had to help people in flooded streets.
Water UK has advised people to make sure their pipes are well insulated.
With any frozen ponds and lakes now set to thaw rapidly, fire chiefs have also urged people not to set foot on the ice after several calls in the same week that four children died in an accident.
London Fire Brigade (LFB) retweeted a photo of people, including children, on a frozen pond in Wimbledon.
“Sadly more examples of people walking on frozen ponds in #London. In the strongest way possible please do not do this!” it posted.
“It may look sturdy enough to stand on, but it often isn’t. If you fall into icy water, the risk of hypothermia is high and can prove fatal,” the LFB added.
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Power was today restored to the remaining people in Shetland still battling outages after heavy snow downed power lines on Monday.
More than 5,000 homes lost electricity and a major incident was declared on the islands.
Mr Brown, the Scottish government’s lead minister for resilience, said the “exceptional weather conditions” had inflicted “complex damage to the power network which was very challenging to restore”.
