Parts of the River Thames have frozen for the first time in 60 years as the UK hits the coldest temperatures on record in February.
Seagulls perched on a frozen Thames River in Teddington, South West London this afternoon, when it had frozen for the first time since the Big Freeze in Britain in 1963.
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The slow flow of water on the non-tidal portion of the Thames is more susceptible to icing, with bitter Baltic wind freezing parts of the river for the first time in decades.
The mercury will drop to minus 5C tonight in the capital, after icicles were spotted this afternoon at the fountains in Trafalgar Square in London.
Temperatures in North Yorkshire plummeted to minus 15.3C last night, marking a low in all English regions in February.
Meanwhile, Wednesday night in Braemar in the Scottish Highlands recorded the coldest temperature in the UK for 65 years, with temperatures dropping to minus 23 ° C.
Bookies lowered the odds of Sunday being the coldest Valentine’s Day on record to 7/2, with Coral suggesting snow could last for the next month.
Oli Claydon, a Met Office spokesman, said some temperature records had been broken in some way.
“Normally you would expect records to be broken by some degree, but here we’re looking at big differences,” he said.
Claydon warned more snow could fall on Sunday, saying the Met Office will likely issue a warning about ice, which would pose “significant dangers.”
Municipalities across England urged people to be “extra careful” tonight, forcing some to briefly suspend waste collection services when Storm Darcy hit the UK.
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Jeremy Hunt, Conservative Member of Parliament and Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, took part in a debate in the House of Commons this afternoon wearing a sling after breaking his arm while jogging.
Hunt told MPs he spent the morning at Royal Surrey County Hospital after slipping in the icy conditions.