Make sure those blankets and jumpers are out of storage (Picture: Rex/Met Office)
Freezing weather is on the way, with temperatures as low as -4°C expected in England.
The government has issued a Level 2 alert warning of the plummeting temperatures, urging people to check on vulnerable friends and family towards the weekend.
From 6pm on Thursday January 13 to 9am on Monday January 17, there is a risk of freezing conditions and prolonged periods of fog across the centre and south of the country.
People who are vulnerable, such as the elderly and those with a health condition or reduced mobility, have been advised to hear their homes to at least 18°C.
If they have to go outside, they should wear shows with a good grip due to the risk of slipping on icy ground.
The government said that if people were struggling to heat the whole house, they should focus on the living room during the day, and the bedroom just before going to sleep.
‘Wearing a few thin layers is better at trapping heat than wearing one thick layer,’ the UK Health and Security Agency, which issued the alert, said.
They added that ‘having plenty of hot food and drinks is also effective for keeping warm’.
Meanwhile, a yellow warning for fog has been issued from tonight until lunchtime tomorrow in central and southern England and in Wales.
Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist Dan Rudman said: ‘Temperatures in central and southern England are expected to trend downwards from Thursday, with overnight minimum temperatures possibly getting to -4 °C in some rural areas, but widespread below-freezing conditions elsewhere overnight in the following days.
‘This will result in some harsh frosts and possible freezing fog in some places.
‘Temperatures will stay subdued through the next few days from Thursday in the alerted areas, with highs likely to remain in the mid-to-low single figures through the weekend, especially in places where any fog or low cloud lingers throughout the day.’
Met Office spokesperson Stephen Dixon told Metro.co.uk that he was not expecting snow to be widespread, although there may be a dusting on high ground in Scotland, as is normal for this time of year.
He said, however, that there could be harsh frosts and freezing fog.
This period of cold weather was not due to an ‘Arctic blast’, he added, which is when cold air is drawn down from further north.
However, he said that looking further ahead there was a chance of this happening when the high pressure over the South breaks down from early next week.
‘It’s too early to say at this at this moment whether we’d be getting getting that prolonged period or how that how that might happen,’ he said.
For now, the more confident prediction is that it will be very chilly in parts of England from Thursday – so get the hot water bottles ready.
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