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Autumn Chill Set To Replace Indian Summer

Autumn Chill Set To Replace Indian Summer

What a difference a week can make to the weather.

Temperatures last Tuesday climbed into the low twenties in northwest England, with 21C recorded at Preston and Keswick.

This Tuesday, temperatures struggled to reach the mid-teens, with a chilly wind across England and Wales making it feel colder, especially in the South East.

An area of high pressure centred over Scandinavia is drawing in cold air from eastern Europe and Russia, with an early taste of winter there.

We’ve already had some early snow in Russia, southern Poland, western Ukraine and eastern Slovakia, with temperatures well below the seasonal average.

The cold there has led to the early migration of the Bewick's swan, with one arriving at the WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre in Gloucestershire on Sunday, the earliest since records began in 1963.

There's some speculation that it signifies a cold and snowy winter for the UK, but it's far too early to say what the upcoming season will hold.

It does coincide with our first autumnal chill, however, with Monday night the coldest of the season so far. Minus 3.7C was recorded at Altnaharra in northern Scotland.

The UK will keep the cold theme this week, with winds continuing to come in from the chilly east, but high pressure means it will stay mainly dry.

There will be just a few showers in the east, especially across the breezy south-east of England, and rain will threaten northwest Scotland on Thursday.

Expect further cold nights, especially Tuesday night, but increasing cloud later in the week will mean frosts will become more localised.

It's not just northern and eastern Europe that will suffer, the cold air will extend as far south as northeast Spain over the coming days.