Temperatures plummeted to an overnight low of -12°C in Wales making it the coldest night since December 2010. There were nine locations in the UK that were colder than -11°C, including Sennybridge in Powys.
In 2010, Wales experienced one of the coldest months on record with flights were grounded and traffic was brought to a standstill. Schools and shops closed, the M4 was restricted to 30mph and rubbish piled up on pavements because it couldn't be collected. Read more here.
While December 2022 has not seen any widespread snow, temperatures have dropped and the cold snap is set to last until the weekend. The Met Office forecast for Wales on Thursday says that any freezing fog patched may be "slow to clear". There were no issues to report on the road network by 7.30am.
As the day progresses the forecasting service says it will be a "a largely sunny day with just a few coastal showers" with a maximum temperature of 4°C. making it "below average for December".
Temperatures tonight could drop to lows -8 °C with a "hard frost", making it another cold night but a change is on the way over the weekend.
The Met Office outlook for Wales says: "Some lingering freezing fog patches through Friday morning, though often sunny. Still feeling cold with a few coastal showers possible, mainly around Anglesey. Maximum temperature 4 °C.
"Cold and cloudy on Saturday though mostly dry. A spell of snow likely early on Sunday, then rain quickly following. Much milder than of late with further rain into Monday."
Paul Gundersen, a Met Office chief forecaster, says: “Over the last week, the UK has been held in a northerly airflow bringing cold, sometimes Arctic air, to the UK. We will still have this northerly influence to our weather patterns until the weekend, but then the cold conditions will lose exclusive dominance over the UK’s weather patterns and we will move into a regime where relatively mild and relatively cold conditions will vie for supremacy.
“We can expect changeable conditions with colder and milder air not too far away from our shores, but it does seem that the Atlantic ‘has woken up’ compared with recent days and will be a stronger influence, countering any further bouts of extreme cold conditions, although spells of further wintry weather remain possible through the rest of December.”
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