When the UK cold snap will end after temperatures plummet to -18°C
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For days, the UK has been blanketed in not only snow and ice but also yellow and orange. Weather warning after weather warning has been issued by the Met Office this week as the wintry weather put Britain at a standstill. Roads and pavements have been coasted with ice, while snow has kept school doors firmly shut and disrupted flights from major airports.
Temperatures sank to -18.7°C last night in the Scottish hamlet of Altnaharra, the chilliest it’s been in 15 years. Gas supplies are dwindling as Britons try their best to keep warm, suppliers say. But in the coming days, these snow-ready frigid temperatures are becoming less and less common.
![[epa11814962 Ice hangs from a bus stop on Snake Pass in Derbyshire, Britain, 09 January 2025. A spell of cold weather which brought widespread ice and snow continues in Britain, with the Met Office issuing warnings for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Southern England and North West England. EPA/ADAM VAUGHAN]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_235457012-eb8c.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
The cold snap might finally be over. The cold snap kicked off on New Year’s Day, according to the Met Office, with weather warnings issued almost every day since. There are no more alerts the horizon – for now at least – though most of the country is under a cold-health alert until Tuesday.
![[metro weather temperature map 11/01]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_235622525-2582.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Public health officials issue these warnings when freezing conditions are expected to have ‘significant impacts’ on vulnerable people, such as a rise in deaths among the elderly or hospitals becoming frozen stiff. BBC forecasters say that while the chill will continue tonight, high pressure will swoop in on Sunday and begin to thaw the nation.
![[metro weather temperature map 15/01]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_235622527-9c8d.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
We live at the bottom of the atmosphere, and the weight of all that air above us causes pressure. High pressure means warm air flows down and, simply put, blows the clouds away from the area. The mercury will then slowly climb up as there are fewer clouds to bounce all that sunlight back and forth between the sky and the surface.
![[Mam Tor blanketed in snow this morning. Derbyshire. January 6 2025.]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_235147460-ddc7.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
