Lowest temperature of -14.5C in Altnaharra on winter's coldest night

Last Friday, a village in northern Scotland saw temperatures plummet to -17.3 degrees Celsius, marking the coldest January night in the UK in 15 years. According to the UK Met Office, the temperature in Altnaharra, located in the far north of the Highlands, dropped sharply shortly before 8 pm.

This was the lowest nighttime temperature recorded in the UK in January since 2010. In 2010, many parts of the UK experienced temperatures dropping below -15 degrees Celsius multiple times, with Altnaharra recording a low of -22.3 degrees Celsius on January 8th. Although forecasters had previously predicted that Friday's temperature would not drop below -18 degrees Celsius, they also indicated a very small chance of reaching -19 degrees Celsius. On Thursday night, the temperature in Altnaharra was -14.5 degrees Celsius.

With the cold weather persisting, temperatures are expected to drop again across most of the UK. Met Office meteorologist Alex Deakin said, "Friday night into Saturday morning is likely to be the low point of this cold spell." Towns in Scotland could see temperatures of -2 to -5 degrees Celsius, while the Highlands could reach -14 or -15 degrees Celsius. The average low temperature for northern Scotland at this time is around 0.3 degrees Celsius.

Met Office meteorologist Zoe Huting stated, "It's going to be a cold night, particularly under clear skies in the east and north and in rural areas." She also pointed out that cloud cover would prevent temperatures from dropping even lower, but the weather would still be very cold. Saturday is also expected to be cold, Huting said, "We have another night to get through tonight, and it could be cold again tomorrow night. Tomorrow night, temperatures will mainly fall widely below freezing in the east, including East Anglia, the northeast of England, and northern and eastern Scotland. So Saturday will be another cold night, but as we head into Sunday and Monday, we can start to look at temperatures recovering somewhat."

Looking ahead to next week, Huting said, "We're talking about the weather turning milder, but that certainly doesn't mean temperatures are going to be above average - it's just going to feel much more comfortable than it does now." She added that the UK has experienced a "particularly long cold spell," "with each night this week getting colder, whereas if we look back at previous years, we might only have two or three particularly cold days." Scottish Water stated that due to the cold weather, there has been a 30% increase in bursts on its water network and in pipes in homes and commercial properties, and it expects further increases over the weekend and into next week as temperatures drop and then rise. A spokesperson for the company said, "We will repair bursts on our network as quickly as possible, although repairing bursts on owners' properties is their responsibility, we can sometimes offer assistance. Scottish Water is monitoring the weather situation and its network around the clock and has teams of engineers ready to deploy at any time."