No respite from rain as cold showers and blustery winds set to sweep across parts of UK

The UK is facing cold showers and icy conditions as Arctic air sweeps across the country this weekend.

Scotland could see potentially disruptive snowfall, while the north of England is bracing for freezing temperatures.

The Met Office predicts cold and sometimes blustery winds for Friday evening, with potentially heavy showers in the north and west, as temperatures drop to around four degrees below average.

There is also potential for widespread frost, including icy patches, forming overnight.

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Grahame Madge, spokesperson for the Met Office, said: "Parts of the higher areas of the Lake District, the Pennines, possibly even as far as the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors, might begin to see some wintry conditions, and freezing conditions overnight, but we're not anticipating that this is going to last long."

Areas where temperatures are set to drop below freezing overnight include Yorkshire and the Humber, with minimum temperatures of minus 1C, Northern Ireland, with a minimum temperature of minus 2C, and Dumfries, Galloway, Lothian and Borders, with a minimum temperature of minus 2C, according to the Met Office.

The showers are set to continue on Saturday, but winds should ease and temperatures rise, according to the forecast.

It comes after 70mph gales battered areas in Scotland, the north of England, the Midlands, Wales and Yorkshire this week.

"A good guide here is if people haven't experienced freezing conditions so far, then they're not likely to over the next few days," Mr Madge said.

The lower temperatures have been caused by a cold plunge over North America, which supercharged the jet stream before it raced across the Atlantic, where it helped develop a deep area of low pressure near Iceland.

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This swept across the UK on Thursday, drawing down cold Arctic air behind it.

Weather conditions like this are not unusual for March, with milder temperatures set to return soon, Mr Madge said, adding: "The emphasis really is that we're past the peak of the cold."

(c) Sky News 2026: No respite from rain as cold showers and blustery winds set to sweep across parts of UK