Coldest night for over 10 years reported

ABird A frozen leafABird
Temperatures dropped across Essex and Cambridgeshire

One of the coldest nights for nearly 10 years has been reported in Essex.

According to the Met Office temperatures of -10.7C (12.7F) were reported overnight in Andrewsfield, near Braintree.

Dan Holley, from Norwich-based Weather Quest, said it was the coldest night in the region since January 2013 and the coldest December night since 2010.

Unofficial figures showed that in other parts of north-west Essex and south Cambridgeshire temperatures dropped to -13C (8.6F), he added.

cloudspotter723 A snowy field in Hatfield Peverelcloudspotter723
BBC Weather Watcher cloudspotter723 captured a snowy field in Hatfield Peverel

The meteorologist said: "The lowest temperatures were typically over parts of Essex and south Cambridgeshire where snow cover is still on the ground, as snow acts like a blanket preventing the heat stored in the ground from escaping — and resulting in even lower overnight temperatures than would normally occur if there was no snow cover."

MaggieMay A wintery scene in Thriplow, CambridgeshireMaggieMay
Snow remained on the ground in Thriplow, Cambridgeshire

A Met Officer yellow warning for ice and snow was no longer in place for East Anglia, but there were ones in place for the eastern coast of England north of The Wash, and in southern England stretching from Cornwall to the Isle of Wight.

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