Easter Sunday Is The Coldest On Record

This Easter Sunday was the coldest on record after temperatures fell to -12.5C in Braemar, central Scotland.

The previous coldest temperature for Easter Sunday was -9.8C recorded in 1986 after modern record-keeping began in 1960.

Sky News weather producer Joanna Robinson said: "It looks like we've seen the coldest start to Easter Sunday on record, with an exceptional -12.5 Celsius recorded at Braemar.

"By some way, it beats the previous record which was set in 1986 at Lagganlia in Inverness-shire.

"In terms of the snowiest Easter, the greatest snow depth recorded stands at 33cm at Strathdearn in Inverness-shire on the April 3, 2010. At least this year, it was mainly dry."

However, snow remained on the ground in some areas as the cold weather kept it around.

Joanna Robinson added: "Further afield, the Mediterranean has seen a very unsettled Easter Weekend so far, with strong winds and heavy rain in places.

"On the whole, March has been very cold across a large part of Europe, and it’s set to become the coldest in more than 50 years for the UK.

"As we move into April, below average temperatures are expected to continue across the UK for at least the first week. Most places will be dry though, with some sunshine."

Braemar is the third coldest low-lying place in the UK with an average temperature of 6.81C. The little village has broken UK weather records twice before, with lows of -27.2C recorded on two occasions.

But despite today's record, winter temperatures in Braemar are relatively warm when compared to places of the same latitude (such as Moscow) due to much of Britain's weather being controlled by the Gulf Stream.