After a week of sub-zero temperatures – including the coldest January night in 15 years – shivering Britain is finally beginning to thaw.
Comparatively milder weather arrived on Sunday, to even some of the coldest areas which have been under a blanket of snow and ice.
And these conditions are set to stay for the next few days, with the Met Office forecasting temperatures as high as 12C in some northern areas of the UK on Monday and Tuesday.
But don’t pack away your winter coats just yet as the mercury will still only reach single figures in many other areas and frosts could return by the end of the week.
On Friday night into Saturday morning, lows of -18.9C (-2.02F) were recorded at Altnaharra, in the Scottish Highlands – the coldest night of the winter and the lowest UK temperature recorded in January since 2010 – while the mercury fell to -11.2C (11.84F) in Shap, Cumbria.
But the Arctic conditions were finally in retreat as daytime temperatures rose above freezing on Sunday, even in the highest parts of the Peak District and Pennines.
Patchy freezing fog is still set to be a problem affecting southern England, but milder air is likely to move in with cloud and patchy rain.
A Meteorological Office spokesman said Monday is set to be ‘windy in the north, with spells of rain spreading southwards across Scotland into northern England’, then ‘drier in the south but cloudy’.
Milder air will lead to ‘continued rapid melting of lying snow’ – meaning river levels are set to rise.
Met Office forecasters say northern areas of the UK will benefit the most from the milder conditions hitting the country in the coming days, with some experiencing highs on 12C on Monday and Tuesday
Comparatively milder weather arrived on Sunday, to even some of the coldest areas which have been under a blanket of snow and ice (pictured: Walkers enjoy the icy weather in Richmond Park south-west London on Sunday morning)
Arctic conditions were finally in retreat as daytime temperatures rose above freezing on Sunday (pictured: Ice skaters skate on flooded Fenland fields at sunset in Upware, The Fens, Cambridgeshire)
Skaters took to the ice to enjoy the last of the wintry conditions on Sunday.
Amid the early morning mist, locals were out on the frozen fens at Upware, near Ely, Cambridgeshire, while temperatures were still below zero.
The Cambridgeshire Fens were the birthplace of competitive British speed skating in Victorian times, with the first contest held in 1879.
But amid milder weather in recent years, it has been more than a decade since the last championships were conducted in 2010, according to the Museum of Cambridge.
For the fens to be suitable for skating, it requires four nights of frost, with a temperature of -4C (25F) or colder and little or no thawing during the days in between, to make ice strong enough to skate on.
Others making the most of the wintry scenery were criticised for police over ‘poor parking’.
Both Winnats Pass and Rushup Edge, near Castleton, in the Peak District, were shut by police on Sunday afternoon.
Derbyshire Police issued a warning that dangerously parked cars were set to be towed while the owners of badly parked vehicles would face fines.
People out on the Cambridgeshire Fens this morning skating at Upware near Ely as the temperatures stayed below zero
The Cambridgeshire Fens were the birthplace of competitive British speed skating in Victorian times, with the first contest held in 1879 (pictured: People play ice hockey on a frozen flooded field in Upware)
For the fens to be suitable for skating, it requires four nights of frost, with a temperature of -4C (25F) or colder and little or no thawing during the days in between, to make ice strong enough to skate on
The closures follow reports in neighbouring Edale of ‘about 200’ parked cars blocking gritting lorries and emergency services trying to respond to an injured walker on Saturday.
Risk of flooding is currently low, with only two warnings in place on Sunday afternoon, meaning flooding is expected, in place on small stretches of the River Trent at Girton, Nottinghamshire, and the Upper River Hull, East Yorkshire.
There were 31 lower-level flood alerts in the Midlands and South, warning people to take precautions as flooding is ‘possible’.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) warned there was a risk of flooding in the north of the country today and tomorrow amid melting snow and downpours.
Issuing a yellow flood warning for northern Scotland including Aberdeenshire, Sutherland and Speyside, Sepa said properties could be flooded and there was likely to be travel disruption.
The forecast for the coming days is set to be ‘rather cloudy in the south, with patchy fog and occasional outbreaks of rain’ but ‘breezier in the north, with more persistent spells of rain spreading from the Atlantic’.
A north-south split in temperatures is likely on Monday, with 9C (48F) to 12C (54F) predicted in the north, but only 5-8C (41-46F) in central and southern areas.
Tuesday will be similar, but potentially drier with temperatures between 11-12C in the north (52-54F) and 8-9C (46-48F) in the south.
By the weekend, however, more settled weather is set to extend northwards from the continent, bringing the chance of sunny days and chilly evenings with overnight temperatures back below freezing in some rural areas.
Despite the improved forecast, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has extended its cold weather health alert for all of England until Tuesday.
The latest weather update comes amid a rise in reports of burst pipes.
Scottish Water has recorded a 30 per cent increase in the past two days in bursts on its mains network, and in properties.
The quango is now anticipating even more bursts as pipes freeze and then expand amid ground movement caused by frost.
