- Dramatic pictures from the capital showed roads and parks completely submerged under murky floodwater
- Flood warnings remain in place in areas alongside the River Thames, with more rain still due to fall
- The Met Office issued a weather warning for snow in north-east England and Scotland beginning tonight
- Wintry showers and freezing overnight temperatures expected for the rest of the UK falling as low as -11C
Dramatic pictures from London tonight showed more flooding in upmarket areas of the capital, with cars lying abandoned half-covered in murky water.
Residents were also seen wading through the high water to get to their homes in areas near the Thames, including Richmond.
The floods which has blighted large sections of the city over the past 24 hours has been caused by a combination of the after effects of the recent storms and a high Spring tide.
Yesterday, the water was seen overflowing in Charing Cross where the average property costs £4.7million, Kew where homes cost about £1m, in Putney where the average home is worth £693,000 and in Greenwich where the average three bedroom house costs around £1.6m
It comes after The Thames Barrier was shut for the first time this year 'to protect London from the threat of flooding due to the high level of rain combined with high tides from the sea'.
The action was taken after Storm Imogen lashed the country with heavy downpours earlier this week.
While some flood warnings still in effect around the River Thames, rain showers are expected to dry up by the end of the day, although the south west could see 10-20mm fall before the weather brightens up across the country by the end of Sunday and into Monday.
An Arctic blast is also set to hit Britain tonight with a fresh cold snap bringing up to six inches of snow with it.
Weather warnings have been issued for north-east England and Scotland overnight and into Sunday while temperatures will drop below freezing for much of the UK.
The slow-moving cold front will begin in the Scottish Highlands today and move south gradually, with snow expected to start falling over England at midnight.
A Met Office spokesperson said there could even be some wintry showers in the south west with Exmoor and Dartmoor warned to expect sleet.
The spokesperson said: 'Snow warnings have been issued across Scotland and the borders and as the night goes on that will move down towards County Durham, with a warning issued for north England between midnight tonight and 12noon Sunday.'
Many in the north will then feel the full force of the cold snap on Sunday and Monday when the temperature will fall as low as -11C in some parts of Scotland.
Met Office forecaster Alex Burkill added: ‘On Saturday, some of the snow settling in Scotland is likely to start falling in the North East. There could also be scatterings of wintry showers on higher ground in the South – such as the Cotswolds, the Chilterns, even Exmoor and Dartmoor.
‘As we go into Sunday, we’ll start to see colder air blowing from the North, which typically brings more showers to the East ...where these fall further inland, they are likely to fall as snow or sleet.
‘By Monday, these wintry showers could even start to move down as far as the Midlands – though they will be much more scattered.’
Mr Burkill said the start of next week is likely to see lower-than-average temperatures for this time of year.
In a possible sign of what is to come, thousands of passengers travelling between Kent and London faced disruption due to ‘icy conditions’ on railway lines in the South yesterday, with some reporting delays of more than two hours.
The Met Office said a slow-moving cold front is expected to make its way southwards on Saturday, with weather warnings in place across Scotland for ice and up to 4in of snow.
The chill is expected to continue drifting down to northern England, meaning Valentine’s Day will start with widespread early frosts before temperatures drop as low as -5C (23F) as the evening draws in.
The North East is predicted to see around 2in of snow on lower ground inland, with up to 6in higher up. The South is likely to feel slightly milder throughout the weekend thanks to a wet weather front.
The wet forecast means that despite plummeting overnight temperatures, any scattering of snow across the Cotswolds and Dartmoor is unlikely to settle.
Suffolk is also forecast to see some of the coldest temperatures in the south, with lows of -4C (25F) in the village of Santon Downham.
Sharp frosts are then expected across Britain on Monday and Tuesday mornings.
SO MUCH FOR BRITISH GRIT? SCIENTISTS DEVELOPING HEATED CONCRETE TO TACKLE ICY ROADS
Researchers in the US have come up with a new scheme to heat roads during cold weather rather using grit or salt to melt ice.
The plans are being developed in Lincoln, Nebraska, where scientists are developing a type of concrete complete with steel shavings and coal that will be able to carry an electric current, which can heat it up to 4C.
According to the Daily Telegraph, academics at the University of Nebraska say it would be cheaper to use this technology to heat a road during an expected cold snap than to spread de-icing chemicals across wide stretches of infrastructure.
It comes as the Met Office has issued weather warnings in Scotland and north England with ice expected to cover many roads over the next few days.
The Department of Transport is thought to have 286,000 tonnes of salt for local roads and another 102,000 tonnes for motorways and A-roads.
A 150ft bridge in Nebraska was the testing ground for the heated surface, with the current fed into the road using steel rods attached to electrodes.
The cost of using the technology across the bridge for three days would be around £173.
