AMBER cold weather health alerts have been issued for all of England today as the wintry weather continues.
Temperatures dropped to -18.7°C in the UK’s coldest January night in 15 years.
PAAn ice skater on a frozen flooded field in Upware, Cambridgeshire[/caption]
LNPFrost covered Temple Newsam house & its gardens this morning in Leeds, Yorkshire[/caption]
Terry HarrisWinter freezing fog begins to lift across B1040 in the Fens[/caption]
ukhsaAmber cold weather health alerts have been issued for all of England[/caption]
Chris EadesNarrow boats frozen in on the Oxford Canal[/caption]
Altnaharra, which is in the most northern region of the Highlands, recorded -18.7°C on Friday night, the Met Office said.
It is the coldest January overnight temperature since 2010, when temperatures dropped below -15°C several times at locations across the UK, including -22.3°C on January 8 in Altnaharra.
Much of the UK endured below-freezing temperatures overnight, with temperatures dropping to -11°C in Shap, Cumbria, and Heathrow recording -5°C.
The average low in northern Scotland for this time of year is about 0.3°C, while for England, overnight lows are about 1.5°C to 1.6°C.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has extended its cold weather health alert for all of England until Tuesday.
Amber alerts have been extended and will now run until January 14, meaning a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions, is likely, the agency said.
Run by the UK Health Security Agency and the Met Office, the system was introduced in June 2023.
While yellow alerts are issued during periods of cold weather that pose a risk to elderly people or those with serious health conditions, amber alerts are put in place when a wider impact is expected.
Met Office meteorologist Zoe Hutin said Saturday is forecast to be cold too, with temperatures expected to drop widely to below freezing overnight in eastern areas.
She said: “So another chilly night to come on Saturday, but then as we go into Sunday and into Monday, then we can start to expect temperatures to recover somewhat.
“I won’t rule out the risk of seeing something around or just below freezing again on Sunday night into Monday, but it won’t be quite so dramatic as the temperatures that we’re going to experience as we go overnight tonight.”
Looking ahead to next week, she said: “We’re saying it’s getting milder but by no stretch does that mean (temperatures) are going to be above average, it just will feel comparatively much more pleasant than it is at the moment.”
The UK has experienced a “particularly long cold spell”, she said.
She added: “It has been getting progressively colder each night this week, whereas looking at previous years, we’ve had maybe two or three days where things have been particularly cold.”
Cold health alerts
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Yorkshire and The Humber
East Midlands
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East of England
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It comes after the network operator said Britain has enough gas following warnings that stores are at “concerningly low” levels.
National Gas said on Friday that supplies remain “healthy” and that Britain is “well-placed” to respond to demands this winter.
It added that gas stocks kept at the UK’s storage sites are well-above half full.
Energy giant Centrica said UK supplies have fallen to “concerningly low” levels with less than a week’s worth of demand for gas in store.
Stocks were 26 per cent lower than the same period last year, leaving them about half full, it claimed.
A National Gas spokesperson said: “The overall picture across Great Britain’s eight main gas storage sites remains healthy.
“Britain obtains its gas from a diverse range of sources beyond that already in storage, meaning we are well placed to respond to demand this winter.”
Gas inventory levels have come under pressure from the cold weather conditions and the end of Russian gas pipeline supplies through Ukraine at the end of last month.
UK 5 day weather forecast
Today:
A frosty morning for many with fog stubbornly clearing, leaving a bright afternoon with plenty of sunny spells.
Cloudier further west with light rain and hill snow spreading across Northern Ireland, into western Scotland, and lingering in the far southwest.
Tonight:
A milder night to come in the west, where low cloud spreading slowly eastwards brings areas of patchy light drizzle.
Cold elsewhere, with a widespread frost developing beneath clear skies.
Sunday:
Rather cloudy with the best of the sunshine in the southwest. Persistent rain spreads across the far northwest.
Still chilly in the southeast, but temperatures recovering closer to average elsewhere.
Outlook for Monday to Wednesday:
Milder. Mainly dry and settled in the south, though rather cloudy with occasional spots of rain.
Breezier in the northwest, with more persistent spells of rain arriving from the Atlantic.
Natural gas accounted for 53 per cent of power in the UK on Friday, according to National Grid data, with renewables meeting just 16 per cent of the country’s needs.
The UK has among the smallest amount of gas storage of any major European countries with capacity to hold enough gas for 12 average days or 7.5 peak winter days.
Germany has enough for 89 days, France has 103 days and the Netherlands 123 days.
Centrica boss Chris O’Shea said storage levels are “concerningly low”.
He said the clean energy transition would mean the UK needs to use more energy storage systems to help meet demand.
PAHorses on the gallops at Sam Drinkwater’s Granary Stables, Strensham, Worcestershire[/caption]
A layer of frost covers a cold Wicken Fen in Wicken, Cambridgeshire, this morningSolent
LNPThe Grand Union Canal at Little Venice partly frozen over[/caption]
George Cracknell WrightMembers of the public exercise in a frost covered Hyde Park in Central London[/caption]
PAIce forms on the steepest part of the flight at Caen Hill Locks in Devizes, Wilsthire[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
