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Britain endures first widespread frost of autumn as temperatures fall to -2C, Met Office issues rain warning and RAC warns commuters to brace for ‘Flat Battery Monday’

Britain experienced its first widespread frost of autumn this morning as temperatures dropped below zero overnight in much of England and Wales.

The mercury fell to -2.2C (28F) in the Scottish Highlands early this morning, while the coldest place in England was Charlwood in Surrey at -1.4C (29.5F).

Other UK cold spots were Benson in Oxfordshire, Farnborough in Hampshire and Lakenheath in Suffolk, all at -1C (30F). Gatwick and Stansted both fell to 0C (32F).

The RAC is bracing itself for a 20 per cent rise in callouts today as more car motors will likely fail due to the freezing night – and has dubbed it ‘Flat Battery Monday’. 

It comes after a chilly weekend that saw a low of -4C (24.8F) at Shap in Cumbria yesterday morning although much of the country enjoyed dry and bright conditions.

This week will start with high pressure across the UK, bringing settled conditions for many despite highs of only 13C (55F) in the South and 11C (52F) in the North.

But low pressure will arrive during the middle of the week, turning things much more unsettled with a yellow rain warning for Scotland from Thursday until Saturday.

The chill was a stark contrast to the previous weekend when October 8 saw the UK’s warmest October day in five years at 25.8C (78.4F).

Autumn holidays up 26% after ‘washout’ summer 

A holiday company has reported a surge in bookings for autumn breaks after the UK’s ‘washout’ summer.

On The Beach said bookings for holidays in October and November are up 26 per cent compared with a year ago.

Some 58 per cent of UK adults are considering or definitely going on holiday in that period, a survey commissioned by the travel retailer suggested.

The Met Office said conditions in the UK in July were ‘often cool, dull, windy and with a lot of rainfall’, while August was ‘a rather mixed and unsettled month’ with ‘only one really hot day’.

Former TV weatherman John Kettley has provided guidance to On The Beach customers about which popular destinations will have the highest temperatures over the coming weeks.

He said Las Vegas, Dubai and Thailand will reach temperatures of up to 39C (102F).

Lanzarote, Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura – all part of the Canary Islands – are forecast to have highs of 27C (81F) and up to eight hours of daily sunshine.

Earlier this month also saw four consecutive October days above 25C (77F) – the longest such run since 1959.

Today is expected to be a largely dry day with a small chance of a few light isolated showers over north-western parts of Scotland.

It will be quite cloudy, but there will be sunny spells throughout the day, particularly early on with mostly gentle winds.

There will then be a dry and mostly clear end to the day for most, with cloud over southern parts, and a few spots of rain for South West England.

As the night progresses, most areas will remain dry with clear spells, particularly to the north, though rain will still affect the South West.

It will be staying mostly dry tomorrow with just a few showers in South West England and a few patches of light cloud around, with thicker cloud later.

The average temperature for October is usually 17C (63F) in London, and the mercury should recover to this level by Wednesday.

Wednesday will begin cloudy with spells of rain for southern and western areas, but downpours will become more widespread by the afternoon, and may be heavy.

There is then a Met Office warning for ‘extremely heavy rain’ for Scotland from Thursday morning amid concerns that communities could be cut off for days by flooding.

Parts of the country still recovering from flooding the previous weekend will again be affected by torrential rain until midnight on Saturday.

The Met Office put a 66-hour yellow weather warning in place and advised there is a chance homes or businesses could collapse amid extensive flooding.

Forecasters said there would be ‘strong south-easterly winds’. Fast-flowing or deep floodwater could also pose a danger to life across a swathe of central and eastern Scotland. The Met Office stated there could be ‘some exceptional rainfall totals’.

The impact could include areas being ‘completely cut off, perhaps for several days’, dangerous driving conditions and road closures. The warning covers Angus, Dundee, Stirling, Perth and Kinross, Aberdeenshire, Moray and Highland.

The UK’s first frost of autumn was recorded more than a month ago on September 13 when temperatures dropped to -3.2C (26.2F) in Scotland.

That marked the UK’s first frost in 97 days since June 8 – and was also the first time a temperature of -3C (26.6F) in Britain had been recorded for 137 days since April 29.

It also came after a week-long heatwave earlier in September, which saw temperatures hit at least 30C (86F) for seven days in a row.

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