Coldest weather for at least five years says Met Office

The Met Office, which earlier today extended its amber warning for the region into tomorrow, says the country hasn't experienced freezing temperatures and snow like this since 2013.

And, as yet it is unclear exactly how long it will last.

If, the extreme cold, coming from the east, continues, this could be the worst weather spell since 2010.

A spokesman for the Met Office, said: "This is the coldest prolonged period the UK has had for at least five years and when we get all the data in, it could be longer than that.

"And, we don't know yet how long it is going to last."

He said the conditions are coming from the east, places such as Siberia, when normally at this time of year the UK would expect the weather to be coming across from the west.

The spokesman said the cold, dry air, is picking up moisture from the North Sea as it comes across to Britain, which is causing the heavy snowfall.

Freezing conditions and snow have already brought chaos to the regions roads, businesses and schools, and its not over yet.

Snow showers and blizzards are likely to continue for all areas during this evening, with snow drifts and minimum temperatures of -5 °C.

Tomorrow will still be cold with frequent snow showers continuing to drift off the North Sea, but perhaps a little less cold than recent days with winds moderating later in the afternoon.

The outlook for Saturday to Monday is slowly feeling less cold, but lying snow and ice likely to persist and scattered wintry showers will continue.