THIS morning's respite from the recent heavy frosts is not set to last with another big freeze well on its way for Hampshire, forecasters have warned.

As the county today enjoys a mini thaw-out, the Met Office is predicting another two nights of plummeting temperatures and icy conditions across the south.

Temperatures will only start to climb during the latter half of the weekend.

In Southampton, temperatures during the day today and tomorrow are expected to stay at 2C (36F) or 3C (37F), but overnight the icy cold conditions will return.

Daily Echo: Click below to see a video of today's headlines in sixty seconds

Clear skies tonight will see the temperature fall to -2C (28F) in the city centre.

Then tomorrow night, the temperatures are expected to drop even further - down to -3C (27F) in Southampton and -4C (25F) in more rural areas of the county.

Highs on Saturday are expected to be slightly warmer, at 4C (39F), and Hampshire is expected to stay frost-free on Saturday night.

Weather forecaster John Hammond, from the Met office, said: "The cold weather is set to stay in Hampshire for the next couple of days. There will be another couple of sharp frosts.

"By Saturday we should have seen the back end of the particularly low temperatures, and temperatures won't fall below freezing on Saturday night.

"But on Sunday we will finally start to see temperatures lift a bit more, up to about 6C (43F), so hopefully it won't feel quite as bad as it has done."

He said rain is forecast for later on Sunday, pushing temperatures higher. On Monday, highs of 10C (50F) are forecast, along with more rain.