There was always the risk that Thursday's rainfall could turn briefly to snow as it cleared southwards through England and Wales. The risk seemed restricted to the hills of north Wales and northern England, and indeed snowfall was recorded. However, during Thursday afternoon and evening, winds fell light across much of central Britain, and this allowed the falling rain to "cool" the air more readily. The result, snowfall to low levels across north Wales, northern England, and the north and east Midlands!

The process responsible for this snow is called evaporative cooling, and is one of the most difficult weather phenomenon to predict. Thursday's event gave an inch or two of snow to north-east Wales, northern England, including Cumbria, Lancashire and Yorkshire southwards, and across the north Midlands. Particularly badly affected were parts of the east Midlands, especially across Derbyshire where snow fell very heavily in a short space of time and closed some higher level routes. Forecasters are willing to admit that this snowfall was more widespread than expected, although for many weather enthusiasts it came as a welcome treat!

During Thursday night and into Friday morning, freezing temperatures set in, creating a UK ice-rink! Across England and Wales, coldest spots include Benson in Oxon, Manchester and Newcastele, where temperatures fell to -3C (27F). Further north in Keswick, Cumbria, lows fell to -4C (25F). Aviemore in Scotland fell to -5C (23F), whilst high on the Cairngorm mountains, a bitterly cold -10C (14F) was recorded. Ice was a widespread problem overnight after the days rain and snow, and frost greeted many on Friday morning.

During Friday, further sleet and snow showers are expected to affect Northern Ireland, north Wales, eastern parts of England and much of northern and eastern Scotland. Elsewhere, despite being cold it will be bright with lots of sunshine. During Saturday, milder air and rain is going to battle in from the south-west. However, as the rain meets the cold air, it may well turn to snow across parts of Wales, the Midlands, Ireland and northern England. This situation will be monitered with more details tomorrow.