If you were tempted to pack the woolly hats and scarves away when daffodils started appearing last month, this weekend showed that would have been premature.
A bitingly chilly evening last night gave way to winter wonderland scenes in parts of England this morning – with snow in Dorset and Wiltshire and freezing fog nearer London.
One of the most striking scenes from today’s chilly weather is of a single red deer stag staring the camera down in Windsor Great Park this morning, with the grassy backdrop white with frost.
Nearby on the Long Walk to the famous castle, three joggers can be seen disappearing into a looming cloak of fog, with the silhouettes of bare tree branches on either side.
Further west, snow settled on the ground in Dorset and Wiltshire.
There were Christmas card scenes at Stourhead, Palladian house and landscape garden run by the National Trust near Mere, Wiltshire.
Meanwhile the roofs of famous Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, Dorset, also had a dusting of snow.
It comes after rainy February was one of the wettest on record – and also the warmest for both England and Wales.
Provisional Met Office statistics show the average temperature in England was 7.5°C, topping the previous record of 7.0°C set in 1990. Wales saw an average mean temperature at 6.9°C for the month, marginally ahead of 1998’s record of 6.8°C.
The UK as a whole experienced its second warmest February, averaging 6.3°C, but not surpassing February 1998’s figure of 6.8°C. The UK’s 10 warmest Februarys since 1884 now include 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2019.
Yellow warnings were in place from 6am until 10am yesterday Saturday morning for Gloucester, Worcester and parts of Wiltshire, in part because snow was expected where the M4 and M5 meet.
Temperatures in the west of the UK were narrowly above freezing on Friday night and the Met Office said four to five centimetres of snow fell around Bristol.
Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge said: ‘We often do get some snow in March – it’s the old adage that it is more likely to snow in Easter than it is in Christmas, and there is a bit of truth to that.’
He said the morning’s snowfall shows ‘the unsettled weather is continuing’ after last month’s washout.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE : Storm uncovers haunting remains of Victorian shipwreck 130 years after it sunk
MORE : Snow covers the UK as March brings chilly -7C Arctic blast
MORE : Snow and sleet to hit part of UK with wind and rain warnings issued
Get your need-to-know
latest news, feel-good stories, analysis and more
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
