GET your gloves, scarves and bed socks at the ready as temperatures are set to plummet this week.

According to the Met Office, temperatures will rapidly fall tonight to a minimum of -5C and a widespread frost will develop, with some patchy freezing fog forming in rural places.

To prepare, Essex Gritters will be out in force on the county's main roads tonight.

Across Essex, the weather will be dry and sunny tomorrow but temperatures will only reach 6C, with experts warning it will feel more like 4C or 5C.

Temperatures will fall below freezing again tomorrow night, down to an icy -2C.

By Wednesday morning it will feel like a very chilly -5C in Colchester, Southend and Clacton and as cold as -6C in Braintree and Maldon.

Temperatures at 9am on Wednesday are set to be around the freezing mark for much of Essex, with a predicted temperature of -1C in Colchester, -2C in Basildon and 0C in Clacton.

During the day on Thursday, the top temperature in Basildon will be 7C (but it will feel more like 4C), and it will struggle to even reach 5C in Clacton. Maldon will see a high of just 4C.

And temperatures are set to stay low into the weekend with highs of just 5C or 6C.

  • If you take any pictures of the wintry weather in Essex, send them to gazette.newsdesk@nqe.com along with your name and where you are from.