Britons have been warned of an “extreme freeze” overnight as the Met Office said temperatures could plunge even further than Tuesday’s 10-year low.
Temperatures fell to minus 17.1C in the Scottish Highlands, the coldest recorded since January 2010, when the mercury dropped to minus 22.3C.
The Met Office said wide areas of Scotland were likely to get down into double figures and sub-zero temperatures were expected across the whole of the UK overnight on Wednesday.
(PA Graphics)
Cities such as Manchester and Carlisle may drop to minus 4C, and York is expected to see lows of minus 6C.
The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings in areas where snow and ice could cause travel disruption, covering the eastern half of England and Scotland, Devon, and south-west Wales, for Thursday night and Friday morning.