Will 2019 be the UK’s coldest winter on record?
UK shivers through coldest night of the year

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Parts of the UK have endured their coldest night of the year, with temperatures dropping nearly as low as -10C in some parts of the country.
Rural Scotland has been hit by the coldest weather, with a brisk -9.9C recorded in Braemar, Aberdeenshire.
The chill follows a Sunday night drop that saw temperatures plummet to -8.6C in Tulloch Bridge and Dalwhinnie, the lowest of the autumn so far.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
And it was a nippy affair in Northern Ireland, where temperatures in County Down dropped to -5.1C.
The cold snap has prompted Public Health England (PHE) to issue a cold weather warning until 12pm on Wednesday, and encourage people to look out for anybody who might be vulnerable.
Dr Emer O'Connell of PHE said: “Older people and those with heart and lung problems are at risk of getting sick in cold weather.”
The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for dense and freezing fog this morning, which the North West Motorway Police Group said had led to a few accidents.
“The gritters have worked tirelessly all night, but it's still icy out there,” they told Sky News.
What was the coldest winter on record?
Identifying which winter holds the distinction of “coldest on record” depends on the data and criteria used.
By monthly mean temperatures, December 2010 holds the record for the coldest December since Met Office records began in 1910, at -0.7°C.
But according to the Central England Temperature (CET), a record of monthly mean temperatures dating back to 1659, December 1890 was marginally colder, with a mean of -0.8°C.
If judged by the mean temperature for an entire winter (December, January and February), the coldest-ever season title belongs to the winter of 1962-63, when a freak cold snap brought much of the country snow for 67 consecutive days up until early March. Temperatures fell as low as -19.4°C in parts of northern Scotland.
However, there are two winters that reportedly break even that record, according to CET measurements: 1683-84, followed by the marginally less chilly 1739-40.
The coldest single temperature ever recorded in the UK is claimed, unsurprisingly, by Scotland. In 1895 and 1982, Braemar in Aberdeenshire hit an overnight low of -27.2°C, a temperature matched in 1995 by Altnaharra in the Highlands.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
Should you fire your financial adviser? 4 signs it's time to say goodbye.
The Explainer Breakups are never fun, but you have to protect your wallet
By Becca Stanek Published
-
The daily gossip: Man arrested in connection with shooting of Tupac Shakur, an OceanGate movie is in the works, and more
Feature The daily gossip: September 29, 2023
By Brendan Morrow Published
-
What to expect from an El Niño winter
The Explainer Things might be different thanks to this well-known weather phenomenon
By Devika Rao Published
-
What to expect from an El Niño winter
The Explainer Things might be different thanks to this well-known weather phenomenon
By Devika Rao Published
-
Why is extreme weather causing fewer deaths?
feature The changing climate is leading to more disasters but warnings and management of impacts is improving
By Rebekah Evans Published
-
How La Niña and El Niño affect the weather
feature Extreme conditions could worsen as global cooling pattern ends
By Julia O'Driscoll Last updated
-
How cold does it have to be to snow?
feature Different ground and air temperatures lead to rain, sleet or snow
By Fred Kelly Published
-
UK and Europe’s unseasonably warm weather
feature The continent is still seeing higher than average temperatures amid fears over climate change
By Fred Kelly Published
-
Cloud seeding: how China plans to end drought with induced rainfall
feature The effectiveness of the controversial weather modification tool has long been in doubt
By Kate Samuelson Published
-
How the UK’s droughts compare with the rest of the world
feature UN warns that ‘land is drying up’ in countries across the globe
By The Week Staff Published
-
Why do heatwaves in the UK feel hotter than abroad?
Why Everyone’s Talking About While the heat can be welcome when you’re on holiday, it can feel unbearable at home
By Amrita Gill Published