Temperatures may plunge to -12C - colder than during Beast from East

More snow has fallen in some parts of the county this week than during the notorious Beast from the East of 2018, as temperatures also look set to beat the worst of that spell.

According to Norwich-based meteorologists Weatherquest, certain parts of Norfolk this week saw a greater amount of snowfall than in the cold snap of 2018.

And while it is believed the worst of the snowfall is now behind us, with only short, isolated showers forecasts, overnight temperatures tonight could well drop beneath the coldest recording during the Beast.

In 2018, the lowest the mercuries dropped to was -8.8C, which came close to being met last night when the temperature plummeted to -8.5C in the Houghton Hall area.

However, this could very well be exceeded tonight Weatherquest forecaster Adam Dury predicting the Norfolk-Suffolk border, close to Santon Downham, could see temperatures as low as -11 or -12C.

He said: "It's definitely going to be a pretty cold one tonight. Most parts of the county will generally see temperatures of around -6C, -8C at a lowest, but places around Santon Downham and Thetford could potentially be even colder.

"In terms of additional snowfall, we're not expecting much more. There may be some isolated showers but with temperatures staying subzero, the snow that has fallen will likely linger."

Mr Dury also warned that as a result of the low temperatures, roads would continue to be icy, with any snow that melts during the daytime immediately turning to ice once the mercuries drop.

Meanwhile, he also revealed that certain areas of Norfolk saw more snowfall in the past three days than during the infamous cold snap of late February 2018.

He said Foulsham, in particular, had been worst hit, with some reports of up to 37cm of snow having fallen in the parish.

Other parts of the county, such as Ingworth, Reepham and Fakenham had also seen in the region of 25cm and 30cm recorded. 

But he added as an overall average for the region, Norfolk and Waveney had seen around 15cm of snowfall, although there was a considerable variance in areas.

He added: "The Beast from the East was much more focussed on the south of Norfolk, while this has seen the north affected more."

The 2018 snap saw around 20cm of snow fall on the region. 

Meanwhile, families have continued to get creative in the snow, building elaborate snow sculptures and enjoying what the weather has to offer.

Among these, people have made replicas of Olaf from the Disney Frozen series and a thumbs up dedicated to NHS workers.