UK temperatures soar to spring levels after bitter cold snap, as forecasters issue rain and flood warnings

19 December 2022, 09:16 | Updated: 20 December 2022, 07:52

The bitterly cold temperatures seen during the UK's cold snap have subsided after weeks of teeth-chattering lows, ice, and snow, as forecasters issue yellow warnings over rain.

In parts of the south of England, and Wales this morning, temperatures hit 13C in parts of the south of England and Wales on Monday morning, with 14C highs of 14C expected in London, Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff later.

Warmer air from the Atlantic is pushing temperatures up as much as 15 degrees in 24 hours.

It's a marked rise on last week, with temperatures in the daytime struggling to rise above freezing, and temperatures at night dropping well below zero.

On Tuesday, Braemar in Scotland recorded -17.3C, while last week, snow hit across London and areas of the south of England.

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However, with the rapid shift from bitterly cold to the sort of temperatures seen in spring comes warnings from forecasters over rain.

The Met Office has put out yellow weather warnings for rain across southern parts of England and south Wales until tomorrow at 6am.

It said homes, businesses, as well as roads, could see flooding, leading to travel disruption.

Train and bus journeys may also face delays as areas at hit with rain, including Brighton, Plymouth and Portsmouth in the South of England, and Newport in Wales.

The Environment Agency has also put in place three more flood warnings, for Alfriston and Horsebridge, East Sussex and Mock Bridge, West Sussex, overnight.

There are now 13 flood warnings in place across England, meaning flooding is expected.

Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said: "It's also worth bearing in mind that, preceding this obviously it was so cold, so the grounds were a bit frozen, drains may have been frozen in places.

"As a result their ability to cope with the rainfall may have been reduced, so that's why we could see some greater impacts which is why the warning was issued.

"Monday night into Tuesday, for most it's going to be a lot milder than it has been of late 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 little bit colder again compared to Monday. So the really mild day, Monday, is a flash in the pan if you will."

The temperature jump could result in pipes bursting as water thaws.

The phenomenon hit parts of London, with 60 firefighters called to assist people who faced flooding in Camden on Saturday.

Water UK, a membership body representing the water industry, has advised that people ensure their pipes are well insulated.

As frozen lakes and ponds are set to thaw rapidly, fire chiefs have urged against setting foot on the ice, a number of calls the same week that four children lost their lives in the Solihull lake tragedy.

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) retweeted a picture of people, including children, standing on a frozen pond in Wimbledon, southwest London.

"Sadly more examples of people walking on frozen ponds in #London. In the strongest way possible please do not do this!" it wrote.

"It may look sturdy enough to stand on, but it often isn't. If you fall into icy water, the risk of hypothermia is high and can prove fatal," the service added.

The remaining people on Shetland experiencing outages had their power restored today, after lines were felled by heavy snow.

Over 5,000 homes lost electricity as a major incident was declared on the islands.