Arctic plunge to hit Britain this weekend as bitter chill sends temperatures plummeting

AN arctic plunge is set to hit Britain this weekend as a bitter chill sends temperatures plummeting.

From tonight, the mercury will drop to single figures for much of the UK, bring a chilly night for all.

And MetOffice meteorologist Annie Shuttleworth said people are likely to have to throw on multiple layers until next week.

Ms Shuttleworth told The SunOnline: "Tonight, it will be a chilly night. Daytimes will be feeling cooler as well.

"In the rural areas, temperatures will go down to low single figures, and higher single figures in towns and cities.

"It will be much chillier than it has felt."

She said it would be even cooler in coastal areas.

The meteorologist said the arctic chill is coming from the north, and is currently moving from Iceland.

She added: "The high pressure is going to pull that air down.

"It's not extremely cold. It's just something to highlight."

Ms Shuttleworth said the warning is also a heads up for the many queuing near Westminister Hall to see the Queen laying-in-state.

She said: "With a lot of people spending lots of time outside, it's something to take note of."

It looked like temperatures would start climbing again at the start of next week, the meterologist said.

The news of a chill comes after England recorded its joint hottest summer ever after temperatures soared into a sizzling new high of 40.3C.

The MetOffice said provisional data collected during June, July and August showed a tie with 2018 for the seasonal record.

Earlier this week, Brits had been warned the chill was coming.

But, they had to sweat through some humid days first- with southern parts of the UK enduring heavy rain paired with 23C days.