Disruption caused by freezing fog and flooding is likely to continue in southern England after cold temperatures set in across the region.

Travel delays, cancelled flights and dangerous road conditions cannot be ruled out despite the weather being expected to improve slightly on Wednesday afternoon, the Met Office said.

A total of 24 flood warnings are in place, meaning flooding is expected, from Ludgershall in Wiltshire down to Dorset and across to Somerset.

A yellow warning for freezing fog was lifted on Wednesday morning but forecasters said poor visibility could continue into the start of next week, with motorists warned to take extra care.

“Mist, fog and freezing fog – including freezing drizzle – will be slow to clear across southern parts of England this morning, take extra care whilst travelling,” the Met Office said on Wednesday.

Bitterly cold temperatures across England’s south and east saw the mercury plunge as low as minus 7.5C in Santon Downham, Suffolk, overnight.

The Environment Agency has warned motorists and walkers to beware of “dangerous” high tides in East Yorkshire on Wednesday night after issuing a new flood warning for an eight-mile stretch of the Humber Estuary.

It said: “The combination of high tides and waves is expected to generate hazards for exposed areas. Please be careful along beaches, coastal footpaths and roads as waves and sea spray could be dangerous.”

The Met Office added that visibility will improve slightly on Wednesday but remain poor as a succession of cold fronts bring rain to the south.

Temperatures will only slightly improve to peaks of 8C, with overnight lows of minus 6C, even though rain, fog and wind are expected to ease for a dry and cloudy day.

Scotland continues to experience unseasonably balmy temperatures, with the country’s highest overnight minimum temperature of 9.5C recorded in Edinburgh.

Unusual weather has “flipped the norm” and left parts of northern Scotland enjoying warmer temperatures than southern England, the Met Office has said.

Monday’s overnight low of minus 8.6C in Benson, Oxfordshire, contrasted with Altnaharra in the far north of Scotland recording 10.6C.

But the trend will gradually disappear over the weekend because temperatures in England and Wales are predicted to rebound to normal January levels.