UK

Fresh weather warning for snow and ice in place across UK as temperatures plunge as low as -11C

Weather warnings for snow and ice are in place across swathes of the UK as temperatures plummeted below freezing overnight.

Forecasters have warned the wintry conditions could affect some road and rail journeys with icy surfaces posing the risk of injury from slips and falls.

Glasgow Airport has suspended flights due to heavy snow, with passengers urged to check with their airline for updates.

Yellow warnings have been issued by the Met Office for the northern coast and southwest of Scotland, as well as southwest and the eastern coast of England throughout Saturday morning.

Check the five-day forecast for your area

Pic: Met Office
Image:
Pic: Met Office

Amber cold health alerts are also in place for five regions: the East Midlands, West Midlands, North West, North East and Yorkshire and the Humber until 5 December.

This means the impact of the cold weather is “likely to be felt across the whole health service for an extended period of time”.

More on Uk Weather

Temperatures dipped as low as -10C (14F) in parts overnight, with Tulloch Bridge and Eskdalemuir in Scotland recording -8C (18F).

The freeze is expected to continue over the weekend, with several sporting events cancelled due to snow and icy conditions.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has urged travellers to take safety precautions, while North Wales Police has issued advice to hill walkers.

In a statement, Glasgow Airport said: “Flight operations are currently suspended due to heavier than forecast snow.

“Our winter teams have been working through the night and we hope to resume operations as soon as possible.

“Please check with your airline for further flight updates.”

There was disruption to trains in the west of Scotland, with operator ScotRail posting: “The snow is affecting some signalling systems and staff are working as quickly as possible to rectify these just now.”

Met Office meteorologist Annie Shuttleworth said many towns and cities will see temperatures hover around -4C (25F) on Saturday.

“There’ll… be some snow showers continuing across southwestern Scotland throughout Saturday morning, mainly falling over the high ground above one or 200m, but there could be some sleetiness to lower levels across parts of the Lake District, for example, by lunchtime,” she said.

“Elsewhere, though we’ll see the mist and fog slowly clear, it could remain quite murky for a lot of the morning across central and eastern areas.

“The best sunshine will be across northern areas of Scotland, but further south and west, you can see things starting to change a little bit [by Saturday afternoon] with a greater risk of some showers.”

While a change in wind direction could make it feel a little less cold in the South West during Saturday, she said: “Elsewhere, though still feeling bitterly cold, not much above freezing.

“Those showers in the South West then do push further inland throughout Saturday night, and as they bump into the colder air, they could bring some snow to parts of Wales and central areas such as the Peak District, for example.”

Image:
The Angel of the North covered in snow

The lowest temperature recorded on Friday was -9.4C (49F) in Shap in Cumbria.

The areas with the most snow on Friday were Aviemore, Invernesshire, 5cm; Albemarle, Northumberland, 2cm; Bingley, West Yorkshire, 2cm; and Loftus, Cleveland, 1cm.

Crewe’s match with Bristol Rovers in the second round of the FA Cup on Saturday has been called off and rearranged for 12 December, with the playing surface judged unsafe.

A number of Scottish Professional Football League matches were also postponed ahead of the weekend, with Dundee United’s trip to face Morton at Cappielow called off and the game between Ayr and Arbroath at Somerset Park cancelled.

Saturday’s high-profile racing fixture at Newcastle has been abandoned due to snow on the track.

Wintry conditions are also impacting other parts of Europe.

Munich airport has cancelled all flights until at least noon because of heavy snow, according to a statement on its website.

Around 320 of 760 flights planned for Saturday had been scratched so far, it said.

Articles You May Like

SNP and Scottish Greens power-sharing deal ends following climate target row
Lowest shop price inflation since December 2021 as some prices actually fall – industry data
Migrant who’s survived 30 failed crossings says tragic dinghy was packed with people carrying weapons and fighting
Jewish campaign group cancels walk over safety fears as Met Police chief defends policing of pro-Palestinian march
Oil rises 1% as market weighs disappointing economic data against geopolitical risk