Lowest temperature of -18C in Altnaharra on winter’s coldest night

Temperatures in a hamlet in northern Scotland dropped to -18C on Friday – the UK’s coldest January night in 15 years.

The mercury in Altnaharra, which is in the most northern region of the Highlands, plummeted at around 22:00 GMT, the Met Office said.

It is the coldest January overnight temperature since 2010, when temperatures dropped below -15C several times at locations across the UK, including -22.3C on 8 January in Altnaharra.

Forecasters said they were not expecting it to fall much lower on Friday but there was a very small probability it could reach -19C.

It was -14.5C in Altnaharra on Thursday night.

More than 50 schools were closed in the Highlands on Friday, with 13 shut in Aberdeenshire.

Hundreds of other pupils have also had another day off due to closures in Moray, Shetland and the Outer Hebrides.

Temperatures for large parts of the UK are set to fall again as the cold weather continues.

Met Office meteorologist Alex Deakin said: “Friday night into Saturday morning may well be the nadir of this current cold spell.”

Towns and cities in Scotland could see -2C to -5C and the Highlands may reach -14C or -15C.

The average low in northern Scotland for this time of year is about 0.3C.

Met Office meteorologist Zoe Hutin said: “Certainly a cold night to come, especially for those beneath clear skies in the east and the north and in rural spots as well.”

Cloud coverage is keeping the temperatures from falling as low but it will still be chilly, Ms Hutin said.

Saturday is forecast to be cold too, and Ms Hutin said: “We’ve still got tonight to come, and tomorrow night could also be chilly as well.

“Temperatures for tomorrow night, it will be mainly eastern parts that see temperatures dropping widely below freezing, so East Anglia, the north-east of England, northern and eastern Scotland as well.

“So another chilly night to come on Saturday, but then as we go into Sunday and into Monday, then we can start to expect temperatures to recover somewhat.

“I won’t rule out the risk of seeing something around or just below freezing again on Sunday night into Monday, but it won’t be quite so dramatic as the temperatures that we’re going to experience as we go overnight tonight.”

Looking ahead to next week, she said: “We’re saying it’s getting milder but by no stretch does that mean (temperatures) are going to be above average – it just will feel comparatively much more pleasant than it is at the moment.”

The UK has experienced a “particularly long cold spell”, she said, adding: “It has been getting progressively colder each night this week, whereas looking at previous years, we’ve had maybe two or three days where things have been particularly cold.”

Across the country, Scottish Water said it had recorded a 30% increase in bursts on its network of water mains, as well as pipes in household and business properties.

The company said it expected a further increase over the weekend and into next week as temperatures fall and then rise.

A spokesperson said: “We will work to repair bursts on our network as quickly as possible and, although it is the property owners’ responsibility to have bursts on their property repaired, we can sometimes help with these.

“Scottish Water is monitoring the weather conditions and its network around the clock and has teams of engineers ready to be deployed whenever needed.”