Freezing fog will hit the Potteries at the weekend as temperatures are set to stay below freezing. But forecasters have given their verdict of when things will warm up as North Staffordshire remains under a blanket of snow.
But before temperatures creep into double figures, residents are being warned there’s a freezing weekend in store. Meanwhile the cold snap has continued to cause issues across the area today where a number of schools have been forced to stay shut.
Councils are also tussling with bin collections and have urged residents to be patient as crews assess the condition of various roads. On the roads and some rural stretches in the Moorlands and Newcastle have been shut off due to the icy surfaces.
Latest Met Office forecast
North Staffordshire will be below freezing for most of today – but it will be sunny. Stoke-on-Trent will see temperatures get up to roughly 1C by about 1pm – but it will then start dropping and reach -4C by 6pm. It’s a similar story for both Newcastle and the Moorlands too where it will feel as cold as -7C in places.
Moving into Saturday and there will be lows of -4C and mist and fog across the city until it clears to give way to sunshine from 10am. The mist will return from around 3pm and temperatures will drop to -1C.
Newcastle won’t get any fog, but it will be misty for much of the day where there will be highs of 2C. The Moorlands will experience some mist during the late afternoon with more freezing temperatures.
It’ll actually get to 4C on Sunday after ac old start in what will be another dry across North Staffordshire.
When it will warm up
After Sunday’s ‘high’ of 4C, the Met Office reckons temperatures will start creeping up – and it’ll be dry too. Stoke-on-Trent will see highs of 8C on Monday before it reaches 10C and 11C in the following days.
It’s a similar story for the Moorlands but on Monday it’ll reach 7C and the most temperatures will get up to in the following days will be around 10C.
Met Office’s UK long-range forecast
January 14 – January 23: “High pressure is likely to lie close to or over the southern UK throughout this period, with generally settled conditions prevailing for many, if not all of the country. Cloud amounts will be variable and often large, with a chance of some fog developing under clearer spells, especially in the south where winds will be lighter, which could be slow to clear.
“Frontal systems may affect the northwest of the UK, bringing some rain and windier conditions here, especially to western Scotland. Temperatures are likely to be generally around or a little above average in the north and west, although southern and eastern parts may be colder at times, especially where overnight fog and frost is slow to clear.”
January 24 – February 7: “High pressure likely to dominate, especially in the south, bringing quiet, grey, and cool conditions here. Northern parts are more-likely to be unsettled but milder. This pattern will likely spread across the whole UK by the end of the period, leading to milder conditions with periods of rain and strong winds more widely.”
Get daily headlines and breaking news emailed to you – it’s FREE