The Brrrrritish Isles! Britain braces for the coldest night in SEVEN YEARS with bone-chilling -16C lows as experts warn black ice danger will last until Monday

Britain is bracing itself for the coldest night in seven years with bone-chilling temperatures expected, as experts warn the black ice danger will last until Monday.   

The big freeze is expected to continue this weekend, with the Met Office warning Scotland could see lows of minus -16C (3.2F) over Saturday into Sunday. 

With parts of England also expected to see sub-zero temperatures reach double digits, as a yellow weather warning remains in place across large swathes of the country. 

This afternoon, a clean-up operation was underway, as yesterday’s heavy snowfall brought down trees and wreaked travel disruption – with roads in Kent particularly badly affected.

A shopping centre in Bath also suffered significant damage, when part of its roof collapsed under the weight of the snow spewing debris onto the ground below. 

But the wintry conditions haven’t stopped some from making the most of the scenery, with one couple spotted enjoying the scenic views of the Angel of the North near Newcastle, and others seen sledging across country lanes. 

Describing this weekend’s freezing weather, meteorologist Alex Burkill said: ‘It’s likely to be very similar to Thursday night – we could get down to -16C (3.2F) in Scotland, but it’s worth bearing in mind that even across the south we could get into negative double figures.’  

A fresh yellow warning for snow and ice covering large areas of the UK took effect from noon on Friday until the same time on Saturday.

It covers northern Scotland, most of Northern Ireland, the eastern coast of England, the south of England and the west coast of Wales.

And although it is to be reduced on Sunday, it will still cover certain areas of the country – including Scotland – until early afternoon on Monday.  

Mr Burkill said Benson in Oxfordshire was one of the spots predicted to reach -10C (14F) or below. ‘Across the bulk of the UK, tomorrow night’s going to be really cold.’ 

This morning, South Western Railway warned of delays due to the heavy snowfall, with Kent Police describing an ‘incredibly busy night’ as a result of multiple vehicles stranded on the A229 and A249.

And also mentioned reports of reckless motorists driving towards oncoming traffic in an an attempt to beat the delays on blizzard-hit roads. 

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