Stand by for icy blasts and heavy snow on Friday Winter is tightening its grip over much of the UK, with widespread freezing fog tomorrow following by extensive snow falling during much of Friday. The lowest temperatures into today were -12.7C at Braemar in Scotland and -12.1C at Houghton Hall in Norfolk, MeteoGroup said that average temperatures were between -3C and -7C, and -3C in London - with worse to come. In Norfolk 262 schools have closed due to the weather But many of us could feel even colder tomorrow. Laura Caldwell, a forecaster with the MeteoGroup weather division of the Press Association, said tonight's minimum could be -8C or even lower where snow is lying already. Tomorrow will see widespread fog, especially in eastern England - with temperatures struggling to crawl above freezing apart from in the south and west. Winds pick up into Friday, with the potential for gale force gusts in coastal areas - making 0C feel like up to -8C. Most of England and Scotland would see significant snowfalls from daybreak, with possible blizzard conditions in exposed areas. Apart from the south and west, snowfall would be widespread and significant - not clearing until towards the end of the day. And then freezing fog returns on Saturday. Today, RAC spokesman Simon Williams said that operators had dealt with a normal day's worth of calls before midday in East Anglia, one of the worst-hit areas "We are experiencing a high volume of call-outs in coastal areas from the north east to Brighton in the south," he added. The main issues are frozen doors, petrol caps, windows and handbrakes. Nationally, we are expecting 8,500 breakdowns today, which is 1,000 more than a normal winter's day.