The UK shivered through the coldest night of the winter so far, with temperatures plunging to a brutal minus 12.5C and bringing a second day of widespread school closures and travel chaos.
Marham in Norfolk recorded the lowest temperature, while Santon Downham in Suffolk and Topcliffe, North Yorkshire, also saw the mercury drop to minus 10C, according to the Met Office. Scotland experienced similarly harsh conditions, with Dalwhinnie and Tulloch Bridge registering lows of minus 11.2C and minus 10.7C respectively. In north Wales, the market town of Bala, nestled within Snowdonia National Park, reported an overnight low of minus 9.6C.
Hundreds of schools were forced to close across Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland on Tuesday morning, while National Rail warned of service cancellations and disruption to train services.
Yellow weather warnings for snow and ice are in place across Wales and north-east and south-west England until 11am, as well as in Scotland and Northern Ireland for much of the day, while an amber warning has been issued for heavy snow across north-east and northern Scotland from 11am until 7pm.
Last night was the coldest night of the winter so far, making it a very cold and frosty start for most of us this morning ❄️
— Met Office (@metoffice) January 6, 2026
Here are the latest overnight lows 👇 pic.twitter.com/8ABA4JR5xv
A yellow warning means some disruption is possible, such as travel delays, but many people can continue with their daily routine, according to the Met Office.
An amber warning indicates a higher risk, with severe weather likely to cause travel disruption, power cuts and the potential risk to life and property and people are advised to take precautions.
Rain, sleet and snow is expected to move in from the north-west on Tuesday as the UK faces “another very cold day”, with as much as 10-15cm of snowfall expected in parts of Scotland and between 1–5 cm likely in areas of England.
A cold Tuesday morning with icy stretches in places, take care⚠️
— Met Office (@metoffice) January 5, 2026
Cloudier in the far northwest with a mixture of rain, sleet and snow moving into Scotland and Northern Ireland❄️ pic.twitter.com/3OceTxE0ks
Disruption is expected on the Wirral and Northern line services, and to trains across Scotland, National Rail said, while breakdown companies including the AA and RAC are experiencing high demand.
On Monday, the severe weather led to cancellations and disruptions to flights out of Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
