England had its coldest night of the winter so far as temperatures tumbled across the UK. A low of -11.7C (10.9F) was recorded at Chillingham Barns in Northumberland in the early hours of Sunday morning, the Met Office said.
In Scotland, a low of -12.6C (9.3F) was seen at Braemar in the Highlands, although it was a few degrees off the -15.4C seen there on Thursday. Elsewhere on Sunday morning, the coldest spot in Wales was at Swyddffynnon in Dyfed, where it was -6.5C (20.3F), while in Northern Ireland the lowest temperature recorded was -2.6C (27.3F) in Katesbridge, Co Down.
Forecasters earlier said there was the potential for a low of -16C (3.2F) in eastern Scotland overnight following a blast of cold weather than brought severe disruption to large parts of the country.
Several weather warnings were issued for Sunday and Monday mornings, although some respite was expected with milder conditions moving in at the start of the week. Icy stretches will continue to be a hazard in parts of southern England and East Anglia into Sunday morning and a yellow warning was in place until 11am. A warning remained in place for snow and ice for a swathe of western Scotland, reaching from Inverness in the north to the outskirts of Glasgow in the south.
“Much of the UK’s dry, but across the north-west and west of Scotland there are some snow showers,” the Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said. “There is a weather warning that will be in place from 7am onward as that band pushes eastwards.
“It will be a cold, frosty start for many and then there is the risk of some more rain, sleet and snow coming into western Scotland by the end of the night into Monday morning.”
After snow left travellers stranded in many parts of Britain, people across the country struggled to get back to normal on Saturday with drivers returning to collect cars they had been forced to abandon at the roadside during the snowfall – up to 14cm deep in some places – while workmen were clearing roads of ice, snow and debris.
Dozens of football, rugby and hockey matches were postponed as a result of snow and icy grounds, with Accrington Stanley’s League One game against Blackpool a casualty.
At the Jamaica Inn, off the A30 near Launceston in Cornwall, where 140 people had camped out on mattresses on Thursday night, staff made preparations in case Sunday night brought more disruption.
Sammy Wheeler, the general manager of the inn, said: “We’ve still got the beds out and we’ve told the Highways Agency we’re on standby, ready if they need us. But, thankfully, last night all the roads seemed to be moving.”
Workers from the Highways Agency and local authorities had cleared all main roads by mid-morning on Saturday, but there were still big clear-up efforts in some places.
In Walderslade, Kent, workers used diggers to remove branches and trees that had fallen due to the weight of snow. Kent police said it had been an “incredibly busy night … trying our hardest to move stranded vehicles”.
Several police forces were dealing with the aftermath of collisions. In Thornaby, Teesside, a car smashed through the front wall of a house after skidding off the road on Friday night.
The M3 had been blocked when three lorries came to a halt, and on Saturday snowploughs and gritters cleared snow from all lanes.
There was sleet and rain in coastal areas, with snow showers further inland on Saturday morning, but by the afternoon most of the country was bathed in frosty sunshine.
On Monday, there will be more snow and ice in much of Scotland, the Met Office has said.
