STORM Darcy's icy grip appears to be relenting but there are still some freezing temperatures heading the way of Crewe this weekend.

This week's snow flurries have given way to sunny intervals today (Thursday), but the Met Office is predicting -2C and -3C temperatures tonight and tomorrow (Friday) night.

Saturday looks particularly cold and the mercury isn't expected to rise above zero centigrade. Temperatures starting at -3C first thing in the morning are still expected to be below freezing (-1C) by midday.

That might herald some attention to the pitch at Gresty Road where Crewe are due to host Portsmouth three hours later in a League One fixture.

But the sheer cold of recent days is fading with the Met reducing the extent of a weather warning it put in place for snow and ice on Saturday with England removed from the affected area as well as parts of Scotland and Wales.

Waters around Crewe have been frozen solid for most of the week such as in Queens Park, where local photographer Jonathan White took the snap (above) earlier.