Temperatures in Norwich set to plummet to record -88C low according to BBC weather forecast

Weather presenter Carol Kirkwood stood in front of the screen on this morning’s BBC Breakfast forecast as it showed how freezing temperatures would descend upon Norwich, Glasgow and the Shetland Islands. Archant

Temperatures in Norwich were set to plummet to a record all-time low tomorrow according to a national weather forecast which predicted thermometers across the city would show -88C - a figure never before seen in this country.

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The severe weather forecast for the city is about 65C lower than the coldest temperature ever recorded in this country, which was about -23C and only 1C warmer than the -89C recorded at Vostok Station in Antarctica on July 21 1983 which was the lowest reading ever recorded anywhere in the world.

The Tundra-like temperatures were broadcast on this morning’s BBC Breakfast forecast which flashed up the somewhat extreme conditions on a satellite map during the show.

Weather presenter Carol Kirkwood stood in front of the screen as it showed how freezing temperatures would descend upon Norwich, Glasgow and the Shetland Islands this morning at 5am only to be followed by a leap of 177C to 88C in parts of the UK later in the day.

The freak conditions would be fairly isolated, the map suggested, as the rest of the country was forecast to enjoy normal to pleasantly warm temperatures for the time of year, ranging from 11C in the morning to 20C later in the day.

Mrs Kirkwood’s colleagues were quick to point out the error with the BBC stating it was a “technical glitch” that was fixed as soon as it was noticed.

Chris Bell, a weather forecaster for UEA Weatherquest, who has appeared on BBC’s Look East, said “human error” would have been to blame for the hitch as -88 is the “default setting” in the graphics package which will appear if a value is not entered into the box.

He said: “It’s just one of those human errors that can happen to us occasionally.”