'Cold weather' alert issued for the South East as temperatures are set to plummet in the new year

Issued by the UK Health Security Agency and the Met Office, the alert for the whole of the South East comes into effect from 9am on New Year’s Day until 9am on January 4.

It comes as temperatures in Portsmouth area area expected to plummet to below freezing later this week, dropping to one degree on Wednesday (January 1) and then minus one for the following two days on the coast. Further inland in Hampshire temperatures could reach as low as minus five degrees, according to the Met Office forecast.

The warning coincides with a yellow weather warning which is also in place across Hampshire on New Year’s Day with winds reaching speeds of up to 75mph.

For the latest visit the Met Office website.