A village in the Scottish Highlands recorded the lowest temperature in the UK in 2023. 

Altnaharra in Sutherland experienced a freezing -16.0 degrees Celsius on March 9, 2023, the Met Office said. 

It perhaps does not come as a surprise, as the village regularly tops the list of the coldest place in the UK each winter. 

Read more: The coldest areas in Scotland as temperatures plunge below freezing

On December 30, 1995, Altnaharra matched the lowest ever recorded temperature in the UK of −27.2 °C, which had previously been hit by Braemar in Aberdeenshire in January 1982.

However, it is a place of extremes, as the hamlet – which has a Met Office weather station – has also recorded some of the highest temperatures in the UK. 

On March 20, 2009, Altnaharra experienced temperatures of 18.5°C – the warmest place in the UK on that day. 

The Met Office shared the latest information on social media as the UK experiences a cold snap. 

Scotland is facing temperatures as low as -7°C as freezing weather brings frost, fog and icy conditions.

Read more: More trains could be cancelled as Met Office issues weather warnings

An area of high pressure is also likely to mean this weather will be settle in for some days, the Met Office said.

Met Office chief forecaster Jason Kelly said: “The transition to lower temperatures will be noticeable over the weekend.

"It will become rather cold next week with lower-than-average temperatures across much of the UK, accentuated by brisk easterly winds in the south. 

“As the prevailing weather conditions will be characterised by high pressure, a good deal of settled weather is likely.

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"Clearer skies and a marked reduction in precipitation are expected, although any showers that do occur are likely to be wintry in nature.

"A combination of overnight freezing temperatures, saturated ground and calm winds mean increasing risks of frost, fog and icy conditions.”

Temperatures are likely to be below average especially overnight with much more overnight frost than usual, the weather service said. Ice is also likely to be an issue given the very wet ground in most areas.