The UK was bracing itself for the coldest night of the autumn on Sunday, with temperatures expected to drop well below freezing across large parts of the country.
The first dustings of snow covered parts of northern England and Scotland over the weekend and forecasters said more was on the way, particularly in Scotland, where temperatures were expected to drop as low as -8C overnight.
Met Office forecaster Sophie Yeomans said: “Snow, which hasn’t fallen so far this autumn in England, could fall on the north Pennines into Monday, as well as on Wales and Scotland’s hills and mountains. Low levels could see flurries in northern Scotland.”
The cold weather comes after a particularly mild autumn and and forecasters say that even in Wales and parts of southern England temperatures could reach -5C overnight.
“It will certainly be a cold start to the working week, so people will need to wrap up warm on Monday morning,” said Dean Hall from the Met Office.
He said the cold snap has been caused by northerly winds from the Arctic, although he added that a weather front would bring milder, damper conditions for much of England and Wales by midweek. Scotland, however, would remain cold, with some further wintry showers.
There are concerns that a bitterly cold winter could cause serious problems for homeless people because of reductions in funding for support. John Bird, founder of the Big Issue, warned last month that it could be the worst winter crisis for the homeless in 20 years.
“I am not just talking about rising numbers [of homeless people], but also the fact money is going down and not up. It is likely to make future winters harder, and next year threatens to be even worse,” Lord Bird said.
“Welfare cuts have had an impact, but I think the real thing that has hit is the removal of support for local authorities … Councils have then cut back on support for those working with the most dispossessed,” he added.
