Wrap up warm, it’s set to be the coldest night of the year with warning of further snow to follow

ARCTIC air over the UK is set to cause the mercury to plummet tonight, with temperatures below minus 13C expected in parts of Scotland.

Sub-zero temperatures could bring the coldest night of the year as the post-Christmas deep freeze continues.

The Met Office said temperatures fell to as low as minus 4.5C (24F) in Katesbridge, Co Down, in the early hours of Thursday while most parts of the UK hovered around 0C (32F).

Two yellow warnings for ice covering parts of the country remained in place until 11am, with road users being warned of treacherous conditions on untreated surfaces.

A yellow warning of snow has been issued for the East Midlands and the north of England for Friday morning, but the Met Office has since warned this could be extended.

Met Office spokeswoman Nicola Maxey said there could also be an area within this warning that may be upgraded to amber, and said up to 10cm of snow could fall.

She said it is “probably central areas of England” that will be affected by the heaviest snowfall as the working week comes to a close.

But Ms Maxey warned the country could see the “coldest night of the year so far” before the snow blankets parts of the country.

“The coldest temperature we have seen this year is minus 13C in Scotland, and we are likely to see temperatures slightly below that,” she added.

“But we are not talking about those extremes in the town and city centres, it is out in rural areas, more exposed areas, particularly over lying snow where you see temperatures drop the most.”

On Wednesday there were stories of disruption, cancellations and delays at the country’s travel terminals due to the weather, with Stansted temporarily closing its runway twice due to ice.

As a result, 27 inbound and 27 outbound flights were cancelled at Stansted, while around 50 flights were cancelled at Luton.

Some 300 passengers were left in the terminal at Stansted waiting to rebook flights on Wednesday evening after dozens of Ryanair services were cancelled, along with a number of easyJet flights.

On Thursday, Stansted said all flights were anticipated to operate as scheduled, although passengers were reminded to check their flight’s status before travelling to the airport.

And at Luton Airport, a spokesman said the travel hub was busy because there were a few more passengers left over from the disruption caused by the weather on Wednesday.

“It does look like there are a few delays to some flights, but we are open, operational – nothing out of the ordinary,” he said, adding that passengers should still check with their airlines.

On Wednesday snowfall caused widespread disruption with a lorry crash on the M1, resulting in the closure of the southbound carriageway, a jackknifed HGV on the M5 in Gloucestershire, and severe conditions on the A14 near Kettering.

Homes were left without power, and in Scotland three climbers had to be rescued from the Cairngorms mountain range after getting lost in blizzard conditions.