Bank Holiday weather forecast: UK to shiver with temperatures as low as -9C

Don’t put warm winter clothing away just yet - freezing weather is to make a return to Britain this weekend, with the mercury predicted to plunge as low as -9C.

An area of low pressure sweeping down from the Arctic and Scandinavia will bring bitter northerly winds, wintry showers and sharp overnight frosts to parts of the UK.

While the Met Office predicts lows of -6C, some experts claim values could dip as low as -9C.

Scotland and the North of England will feel the bite most keenly as daytime temperatures plummet to 6C - around 6C below average for this time of year.

Elsewhere, temperatures will struggle to get into double figures on Saturday and Sunday.

It will be drier and brighter over the weekend though, giving the country some respite from the miserable wet conditions that have plagued the nation of late.

Speaking to Yahoo! News this morning, a spokesman from the Meteogroup said: “A cold front will start sinking south on Friday introducing colder air and a wintry showers across the North.

“These showers will be largely confined to the higher ground and coastal areas of Scotland and Northern England.”

He added that although Bank Holiday Monday would start off dry, showers will start spreading from the west during the day.

According to forecasters, the cold snap is the result of unusually cold outflow from the Arctic.

Normally warm Atlantic air heats the UK in May but this is being forced out by a band of freezing air from the Arctic and Scandinavia.

The lowest May temperatures on record are -8.9C in Braemar, Scotland, in 1927 and -9.4C in Lynford, Norfolk, in 1941.

                                             [Related link: April 'was the coolest since 1989']


The spring freeze follows a week of torrential rainfall which saw flash flooding, thunderstorms and gales up to 60mph.

Flood warnings and alerts are still in place after the recent heavy downpours.

On Monday, a judge died when his car was swept away by 5ft of fast-flowing water at a ford in Headley, Hampshire.

The unsettled outlook comes after a mini heatwave in March and the wettest April on record.