LUCKNOW, Jan. 14 -- Even as intense cold conditions persisted across the state, Lucknow on Tuesday woke up to its coldest morning of the season so far. The city experienced a stinging cold of 5.6 degrees Celsius, about 0.4 degrees lower than the previous low of 6degC on January 4. On Tuesday, mercury rose to a maximum of 21.7degC in the city. Similarly, the minimum temperatures plummeted in several districts of West UP as well. Muzaffarnagar was the coldest in the state with mercury dropping to 2.1degC, about 3.5 degrees below normal. This was the lowest temperature the district had recorded in two years. Meerut experienced 2.9 degrees, which is 3.4 notches below normal, Bareilly 3 degrees, Kanpur City 4 degrees and Hardoi 4.5 degrees. "A drop in night temperatures is expected to result in cold wave/frost conditions in Western Uttar Pradesh, followed by pleasant weather during the day," said Atul Kumar Singh, a senior scientist at the Lucknow met office. As per IMD's forecast, "coldwave" will continue in several parts of UP on Wednesday and Thursday. Lucknow's maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be around 21 and 6 degree Celsius on Wednesday. "Following the passage of a western disturbance, the wind direction has shifted back to northwest, resulting in a 2 to 4degC drop in day and night temperatures across most parts of the state in the last 48 hours. This has caused minimum temperatures in some areas of Western Uttar Pradesh to fall significantly below 4degC, leading to a cold wave in Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, and Bareilly last night," he explained. With no significant change expected in the next 48 hours, a coldwave and frost are likely to continue in some areas of Agra, Aligarh, Meerut, Saharanpur, Moradabad, and the Rohilkhand division of Western Uttar Pradesh. In the northern Terai regions and the far southern areas of Western Uttar Pradesh, the expected dense fog in the early morning hours is likely to dissipate quickly as the day progresses, leading to sunshine and continued relief from the cold during the day....