Northern Ireland

Temperatures drop to minus 5 as we brace for a cold winter

The Met Office has warned that Northern Ireland could experience an extremely cold winter. Picture by Justin Kernoghan
The Met Office has warned that Northern Ireland could experience an extremely cold winter. Picture by Justin Kernoghan The Met Office has warned that Northern Ireland could experience an extremely cold winter. Picture by Justin Kernoghan

Temperatures in Northern Ireland dropped to -5 degrees celsius last night and forecasters have warned it could be the start of an extremely cold winter.

Winter swept in early on Tuesday, with the temperatures plummeting overnight to as low as -5.3 degrees, making Tuesday one of the coldest days recorded in Autumn according to the Met Office.

The Office has also warned that Northern Ireland should expect an extremely cold winter and with a very high likelihood of snow.

Due to the current pattern of the Polar Vortex we could experience some intense cold snaps and there are fears of a return to levels not seen since the winter of 2010/11.

Back then the north experienced its coldest December in 100 years.

“The risk of a cold start to winter has increased to 30% this year. Statistically, however, it is still more likely that the UK will experience a normal start to winter, but there is an increased risk of cold snaps between now and Christmas," Professor Adam Scaife, head of long-range prediction at the Met Office Hadley Centre said.

“Historical weather observations and our latest computer model simulations agree that these factors are increasing the risk of a cold start to winter for the UK, but this is unlikely to persist through winter as a whole," he added.

While the north was spared the widespread snowfall predicted in England and Scotland today a maximum temperatures of just 8°C is expected for Tuesday.

A minimum temperature of 3°C is expected overnight, with Wednesday set to be another brisk day, with a maximum temperature of 9°C.

Forecasters have issued a weather warning covering much of Scotland and northern England to come into effect from midday today, with inclement conditions expected to continue until rush hour on Wednesday morning as a band of wintry weather moves slowly eastwards.

According to reports as much as 15cm of snow is threatening to bring major bring travel disruption in Britain.