Weather forecast for snow and ice: How cold will the coming days get?

The cold and snowy conditions are set to continue across the UK in the coming days.

Large parts of the UK were covered in snow on Sunday and the Met Office says the freezing temperatures will linger well into this week.

Last night was the coldest of the year so far with a temperature of minus 15.7C recorded at Braemar, Aberdeenshire, in Scotland.

Yellow warnings for ice, fog and snow are in place for much of the country on Monday after temperatures dropped below zero, as the wintry weather caused travel chaos for commuters.

According to the Met Office's five-day forecast, things are expected to remain cold for the rest of the week.

Watch: UK freezes as Met Office warns of more disruption to come

How low will temperatures get this week?

Monday

Many areas will see temperatures at or below freezing on Monday.

In Manchester the average temperature is 0C, and in Aberdeen the average is -2C.

Tuesday

The weather will continue to be cold on Tuesday, though some areas will be slightly warmer.

The average temperature in London is forecast to be 2C, and in Glasgow it is forecast to be -2C.

Wednesday

On Wednesday temperatures will nudge above freezing in a number of areas – though it is still forecast to be very cold.

Cardiff, Plymouth, London and Belfast are all forecast to have an average temperature of 2C. Glasgow is forecast to experience subzero temperatures, with an average of -1C.

Thursday

Cold and freezing temperatures will continue on Thursday. In London the average daytime temperature will be 1C, in Manchester it will be 0C, and in Glasgow it will be -1C.

Friday

Some areas will see a slight rise in the mercury on Friday.

Cardiff is forecast to have an average daytime temperature of 3C and Plymouth will have an average of 4C.

In Aberdeen the average daytime temperature is set to be 0C.

Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Matthew Lehnert, said: “The cold conditions will remain in situ during this week.

"In many places daytime temperatures will struggle to get above freezing, while overnight temperatures have the potential to drop below -10 C in rural parts of Scotland.”

According to the Met Office this is the most "significant and widespread" spell of cold conditions since February 2021.

Lehnert continued: “Warnings for snow and ice will continue to be a feature of the forecast until the end of the week. By the end of the weekend there is a signal that we may see a shift in type away from the Arctic-dominated conditions with milder and wetter weather coming in from the Atlantic.

"This transition could bring the risk of significant, but highly transient, snowfall before quickly turning to rain.

“While the freezing conditions remain, drivers especially are reminded that freezing fog, snow and other wintry hazards will continue to create difficult conditions in places this week.”

There was severe disruption on Monday morning for commuters, as the snow, ice and fog caused delays on rail and road networks.

Roads in eastern and south-east England are among the worst affected.

Drivers on the M25 were stranded for several hours due to the UK’s busiest motorway being closed in both directions between Junction 23 for South Mimms and Junction 25 for Waltham Cross, both in Hertfordshire.

National Highways said the carriageway will be “cleared and treated as soon as possible”.

There are delays of up to 90 minutes on neighbouring stretches of the motorway.

Other roads in the area with long delays include the M11, M2, A21, A27 and A249, according to National Highways.

Read more: Snow, ice and fog cause chaos on roads and railways

Several rail lines are closed, with Southeastern issuing a “do not travel” alert to passengers.

There was also major disruption to services run by Greater Anglia, South Western Railway and Southern.

Gatwick and Stansted airports closed their runways on Sunday to clear snow.

About 90 departures were cancelled from Gatwick between midday and midnight on Sunday, with at least a further 37 axed on Monday.

Both Gatwick and Stansted were open on Monday morning but passengers were warned about the potential for further delays.

Watch: Rescue workers pull children from icy lake near Birmingham