The unseasonably warm embrace that cloaked the UK from the worst of the autumn weather has vanished into the November air as temperatures plummeted.

Recent highs which saw the mercury loiter around the early and mid-teens have given way to much cooler weather, and forecasters have not ruled out the chance of sleet, ice and some light snowfall in parts.

Wrapping up warm for a punt along the River Cam in Cambridge
Wrapping up warm for a punt along the River Cam in Cambridge (Joe Giddens/PA)
The wet weather continues
The cold front also brought rain (Joe Giddens/PA)
Waves crash over Seaham lighthouse near Durham
Waves crash over Seaham lighthouse near Durham (Owen Humphreys/PA)
Kite surfers at Tynemouth, North Tyneside
Kite surfers at Tynemouth, North Tyneside (Owen Humphreys/PA)
WEATHER Cold
(PA Graphics)
Bewick’s swans preen their feathers at Slimbridge Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Gloucestershire
Bewick’s swans preen their feathers at Slimbridge Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Gloucestershire (Ben Birchall/PA)
Temperatures plunge in Oberwiesenthal, Germany
Temperatures plunge in Oberwiesenthal, Germany (Bernd Maerz/dpa/AP)
Pamplona
A picturesque scene in Pamplona, northern Spain, despite the rain (Alvaro Barrientos/AP)
Looming clouds in Pamplona, northern Spain
But some serious looking clouds are looming (Alvaro Barrientos/AP)