Life goes on: Wendy makes her way through snow on her farm near Inverness with some hay to feed her Shetland poniesHunt down the ice scraper and arm the antifreeze. Winter is here.
The glorious golds of autumn were given a crisp coat of white yesterday as a blast of Arctic weather blew in.
Some parts of the country woke up to sleet and snow, while freezing temperatures and a widespread air frost left drivers hunting for the de-icer to clear their windscreens.
The lowest temperature was -4.2C, recorded at Warcop Range in Cumbria. At Woodford near Manchester the mercury dipped to -3.4C.
But the frost disappeared almost as quickly as it had arrived, and glorious autumnal sunshine made the morning freeze seem like a bad dream.
Forecasters were expecting a repeat of the conditions this morning before temperatures pick up at the end of the week, returning to the seasonal average of 6C or 7C at night.
Slip road: Lorry crash near Scarborough. The driver escaped with minor injuriesA Met Office spokesman said there were ‘anecdotal reports’ of snow on high ground in the Pennines early yesterday. Several centimetres fell on the Highlands in Scotland, and there was a dusting of snow on lower ground in the Aberdeen area early in the morning.
Rain, sleet and icy conditions on the east coast near Scarborough, North Yorkshire, caused a lorry to jackknife on the A171.
A police spokesman said the accident happened when ‘a large amount of slush was on the road’, but the driver escaped with only a minor injury.
Gavin Hill-Smith, spokesman for motoring group The AA, said crews were dealt with a slight increase in breakdowns yesterday morning.
Snow storm: Cars battle through the blizzards in Aberdeen as temperatures in the UK dipped below freezing
There were around 1,080 breakdowns an hour across the UK early in the day, compared to a typical level of around 900 an hour.He said: 'We haven't seen any cars stuck in the snow. It's more the low temperatures that have been causing the problems.'
A Met Office spokesman said: ‘It’s a bit colder than it was at this time last year, but it is not uncommon for temperatures to dip around now.’
With snow already falling in some parts, bookmakers Ladbrokes have slashed the odds on a white Christmas.
Across the UK, the Shetland Islands and Aviemore are the favourites to enjoy a blanket of snow. In London the odds stretched to a price of 6/1 for snow on Big Ben.
Chilly: Overnight wintry showers left Aberdeen under a blanket of snow but temperatures will return to normalsource :dailymail
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