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The cold spell in the UK is expected to end this week, with temperatures rising today, but heavy rain could lead to flooding and travel chaos.
After freezing conditions in recent days, Monday could bring highs of 14C or 15C to south-west England and north Wales, a Met Office meteorologist said.
It comes after -17.3C was recorded in Braemar in Scotland on Tuesday – the coldest temperature since February 2021.
Other places in the country have also seen lows of -10°C to -15°C in recent days.
The Met issued yellow weather warnings for rain in southern England and south Wales from 6 p.m. Sunday until 6 a.m. Tuesday.
He said heavy rain could flood some roads, homes and businesses, potentially disrupting travel.
“Also to bear in mind that before that it was obviously so cold so the ground was a bit frozen, the drains may have been frozen in places,” said Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill .
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“As a result, their ability to cope with precipitation may have been reduced, which is why we could see greater impacts, which is why the warning was issued.”
He added: ‘The drastic change to something milder is going to be quite widespread, maybe the South West of England, maybe even North Wales could reach 14/15C , elsewhere, although temperatures were largely between 12°C and 13°C on Monday. ‘
But he said northern Scotland could see temperatures in the single digits on Monday.
Speaking on Sunday, he added: “Monday evening through Tuesday for the most part it will be much milder than it has been lately, but we could still see a touch of frost, particularly in parts of Scotland.”
“And then Tuesday, I think it’s going to be a bit colder again compared to Monday.” So the really sweet day, Monday, is a flash in the pan if you will.
‘I think we’re still looking at highs of 12C, maybe 13C, towards the south coast, but far from that, as you go to more central and northern parts, we’re going to be at the better in mid to high numbers, so quite a drop from Monday.
“The cold spell lasted so long and was so extreme that it is over.
“But I think it’s fair to say that the very mild weather we’ve been through tonight and tomorrow will be very short lived.
“Things have gone from well below average, tomorrow they go a bit above average, then they come back closer to average as we go through tomorrow night.”
He added: ‘What I expect heading into and over the Christmas weekend itself is that the southern areas will have near normal temperatures, the northern areas will be a bit colder and there will also be changeable weather conditions. that you could easily have wintry weather as we head into Christmas, mostly north.
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