Teeth-rattling temperatures are set to descend on Britain with the south east and London taking the brunt of cold weather that could plummet to minus 12C.
Freezing weather that has already brought parts of Europe to a standstill stranding thousands of drivers on roads in Sweden is on its way towards the UK from January 6 to January 9.
Weather maps from The Weather Outlook show the whole of the country bathed in deep blue freezing temperatures, but bizarrely despite being below zero Scotland could actually be nearly 10 degrees warmer than Kent.
The horrifying Ice Age conditions come as many are still struggling with high energy costs to heat their homes prompting Kent County Council to issue a warning for the elderly, very young, pregnant women and those with serious health conditions to wrap up warm.
UK Health Security Agency has issued a cold weather alert covering the whole of England valid from 9am on January 6 to 12 noon on January 9.
Kate Langford, Chief Medical Officer at NHS Kent and Medway, urged people to seek help from the NHS if necessary, adding: “prolonged cold weather can be a risk for anyone, but those who are vulnerable, including elderly people, those with breathing difficulties, and children under five, are particularly at risk.”
Forecasting experts The Weather Outlook said in a statement on X there was “quite a widespread risk of snow southern Britain Monday night into Tuesday as a pool of VERY cold air pushes in from the east.”
Jim Dale, a senior meteorologist for British Weather Services, took to X and added: “Eight to 10 days from now” and added a snow emoji. He then rhetorically asked: “The next emergency?”
The cold temperatures are coming from the continent where Sweden and Finland have recorded their record lowest temperatures this century, in the minus 40s.
In Sweden rescuers freed people from around 1,000 cars on the main E22 road in the Skane area of south of the country where the mercury registered -43C.
Jason Kelly, a Met Office Chief Forecaster, said there would be “lower-than-average temperatures across much of the UK, accentuated by brisk easterly winds in the south”.
He added: “As the prevailing weather conditions will be characterised by high pressure, a good deal of settled weather is likely. Clearer skies and a marked reduction in precipitation are expected, although any showers that do occur are likely to be wintry in nature.
“A combination of overnight freezing temperatures, saturated ground and calm winds mean increasing risks of frost, fog and icy conditions.”
