After all that ice, the heat’s back on again
IF YOU’RE fed up with all that slipping and sliding on the ice, there’s some good news – there’s a big thaw on the way and temperatures look set to climb as high as 14C (57F).
After a series of freezing nights in which the mercury plunged as low as -12C (10.4F), the cold was clinging on yesterday, with frost covering the banks of the River Avon at Malmesbury, Wiltshire.
Meanwhile there was a spectacular scene at Kinder Downfall, a waterfall in the Derbyshire Peak District, which froze solid, attracting daring climbers to the ice.
But the chill is expected to end over the next 24 hours, with the Met Office predicting temperatures will rise as the week comes to an end. Long-range forecasts from the Met Office’s Hadley Centre research unit predict 2016 could be the warmest in history, breaking global records for a second year in a row after 2015.
Forecaster Emma Sillitoe said: ‘It is looking like it is going to be mild for the next few days after the cold snap we have had. Tonight might be a bit warmer than last night. We could see temperatures hovering around freezing in the North, and further South it will be about 1C or 2C. Friday will be a wet day though, with heavy rain coming in from the west.’ But she said it would become ‘bright and breezy’ across the country once the rain front had moved through.
‘Into the weekend, Saturday is going to be nicest day, with some nice periods of sunny spells.’ Predictions from the Met Office for 2016 suggested this year will set a new record, with global average temperatures expected to be between 0.72C and 0.95C above the long-term average of 14C.