Braemar has recorded the coldest temperature so far this winter – with the mercury dipping to -9.1C this morning.
The Met Office originally recorded -8.9C in the Deeside village, but by 7am it had dropped even further.
Before today’s recordings, the coldest temperature so far this winter was -8.7C, which was recorded in Bank Newton in North Yorkshire on November 29.
We have some way to go before a repeat of last winter however, when the mercury plummeted to -23C in Braemar in February – the coldest temperature recorded in Scotland since 1995.
A cold few days ahead
Other areas across the north and north-east were hit by cold temperatures early on Sunday morning, including Balmoral and Dalwhinnie which both recorded -7.4C.
Annie Shuttleworth, senior operational meteorologist at Met Office, said tonight shouldn’t be as cold, but warned there are some chilly ones ahead.
She said: “Monday night and Tuesday night will be cold and frosty, we’re looking at seeing temperatures drop to around -6C on Monday night.
“We could see even colder temperatures on Tuesday night at around -8C in the really sheltered glens of Scotland.”
Foggy conditions
Foggy conditions plagued the north and north-east of Scotland on Saturday, causing travel disruption and poor visibility.
There is still some low cloud and fog in some of the glens in the north of Scotland this morning, but this is expected to clear up at the day goes on.
A dull and gloomy #Sunday afternoon with a mixture of low cloud and #fog for many 🌫️☁️ Some brighter spells in the west🌥️ temperatures close to the average, feeling #mild in any sunshine🌡️📈 pic.twitter.com/3B35Lv346j
— Met Office (@metoffice) December 19, 2021
By the end of the week, weather could become more “unsettled”, but before that there could be sunny spells.
“Tonight a cold front is expected to move through the country so that is going to clear things up,” Ms Shuttleworth added.
“There will still be quite a lot of cloud around but it will be more hill fog than valley fog this evening.
“Onwards we’ll see some isolated patches of mist and fog overnight here and there but it’ll be much clearer.
“Because of that we’ll see a bit more sunshine by day on Monday, Tuesday and into Wednesday.”