Temperatures dipped as low as -5° in Katesbridge overnight, according to the Met Office and rose to 8° today as a ‘Scandinavian High’ stays in place over the next few days and into next week.

But after the ‘chilly start with some frost’ Northern Ireland experienced ‘a dry and sunny morning’.

The Met Office adds that it will ‘remain dry this afternoon with plenty of sunshine’ with ‘mainly light south or southwesterly winds’ and a ‘maximum temperature 9 °Cm.

And this evening, the forecasters say ‘will be dry and clear’.

‘Then the rest of the night will be dry with lengthy clear periods and some frost.’ adds the Met Office and there will be ‘light winds and a minimum temperature 0 °C’.

And on Friday ‘all parts will have a dry day with some bright or sunny spells’.

Forecasters add that there will be ‘light winds’ and a ‘maximum temperature 8 °C’.

Met Office spokesman, Stephen Dixon, explained that the changeable temperatures “is relatively common in the UK in winter”.

"Essentially, when we have high pressure (like we do now), this allows relative warmth to build in the day thanks to the sunshine,” he said.

"However, with little cloud overnight, this allows temperatures to drop quickly overnight, bringing sub-zero temperatures.

"In the winter, overnight cloud often acts as a bit of a blanket to keep temperatures up slightly overnight, so when there are clear skies and high pressure this allows any residual warmth in the day to quickly dissipate overnight”.

He added that Northern Ireland now has a “Scandinavian High in place over the next few days and into next week”.

The Met Office spokesman added: “This is when we’ve got the influence of high pressure – largely to the northeast of the UK.

"This is helping to bring largely dry conditions, though there will still be plenty of cloud around through the weekend in Northern Ireland.

"This also means the UK develops a southeasterly airflow in the coming days, which brings cold air from Scandinavia over the UK and sees a drop in temperatures.

"This means as we get into next week we can expect temperatures in Northern Ireland to only get up to around 5 or 6 C in the day, and lower overnight, with some frosts possible”.

** In a statement the Department for Infrastructure said that tonight ‘temperatures are forecast to fall below freezing with a risk of ice on roads’.

‘Salting of roads on the scheduled network considered to be at risk is planned for this Thursday evening 6 February.

‘Dfi Roads Engineers will continue to monitor the weather and road surface temperatures and will undertake additional salting of the scheduled network if required.

‘Road users are advised to exercise caution when travelling, particularly when driving on untreated roads’.