How Cold Was the Beast from the East?

When people in the UK talk about extreme winters, one event always seems to come up: the Beast from the East. This was the name given to the brutal cold snap that hit Britain in late February and early March 2018. It wasn’t just a few days of frost. For many, it was the coldest weather they had experienced in decades, bringing the country to a standstill with sub-zero temperatures, biting winds, and heavy snow.

But exactly how cold was the Beast from the East, and how did temperatures differ across the country? Let’s take a closer look.

A Snapshot of the UK in the Freeze

The Beast from the East lasted from about 26 February to 3 March 2018, with a second burst in mid-March. It was caused by a weather pattern known as a Sudden Stratospheric Warming, which disrupted the polar vortex and allowed freezing air from Siberia to sweep across Europe.

For the UK, this meant days where temperatures stayed below zero from morning to night – what meteorologists call “ice days”. The wind chill was often much worse, with exposed skin feeling as though it was 10 °C colder than the thermometer suggested.

How Cold Did It Get in London?

London is not usually associated with extreme cold. However, during the Beast from the East, even the capital wasn’t spared. At Heathrow, temperatures dipped to around −5 °C, with daytime readings barely climbing above freezing for several days. On 1 March, the morning temperature hovered close to −4 °C, made even harsher by strong easterly winds.

For a city where winter temperatures often hover between 3 °C and 8 °C, this spell was a sharp shock. Public transport struggled, and daily life in the capital slowed dramatically.

Norfolk: Bitterly Cold in the East

In eastern England, the cold was even more intense. Norfolk, directly exposed to the bitter easterly winds blowing in from Siberia across the North Sea, saw daytime maximum temperatures of around −2 °C or lower during the peak of the cold spell.

Nights were especially harsh, with readings widely between −5 °C and −10 °C. Rural parts of Norfolk felt the freeze most, as open countryside allowed the wind to cut across fields and villages without any shelter.

Cornwall: Even the Far Southwest Froze

Cornwall, with its mild Atlantic climate, usually escapes the worst of UK cold snaps. But the Beast from the East was different. Even here, daytime temperatures stayed near freezing. On the Isles of Scilly, the thermometer only managed a maximum of 0.8 °C on 28 February.

That may not sound as dramatic as the deep freezes further east, but for Cornwall – where frost and snow are relatively rare – it was a stark reminder of how widespread the Beast’s grip was.

The Coldest County in the UK

So, which county recorded the lowest temperature during the Beast from the East? That accolade went to Kent. On 28 February 2018, the temperature plunged to −14.2 °C in Faversham, one of the coldest readings ever recorded in southern England.

Other counties across the Midlands and East also dipped well below −10 °C, but Kent holds the record for the bitterest chill of that infamous week.

Why Did It Feel Even Colder?

It wasn’t just the numbers on the thermometer that made this event memorable – it was how it felt. Strong easterly winds blasted across the country, driving snow into drifts and making the wind chill plummet far below actual air temperatures. In exposed areas, it felt closer to −15 °C to −20 °C, which is extraordinary for the UK.

A Cold Spell to Remember

Looking back, the Beast from the East was remarkable not only for its raw temperatures but also for how long the cold lasted and how widespread it was.

London: Down to about −5 °C with days barely above freezing.
Norfolk: Daytime highs of −2 °C or lower, nights down to −10 °C.
Cornwall: Just 0.8 °C at St Mary’s – an exceptionally cold day for the far southwest.
Kent: The national low, a staggering −14.2 °C at Faversham.

The Beast from the East proved that the UK, despite its mild maritime climate, is not immune to severe Arctic outbreaks. It remains one of the most memorable and disruptive cold snaps in living memory – and a reminder of just how dramatically our weather can turn.