Forecasters issue yellow weather warnings as Britain to face more snow
Brr-ace for even MORE snow! Forecasters issue yellow weather warnings across Britain with parts of the country set to face -10C as temperatures drop overnight
- Yellow weather warnings in Scotland and north east extended till 12pm Friday
- Britain is anticipating more snow in Scotland, north east and south west England
- A few cm of snow to fall in lower areas with as much as 20cm on higher ground
- Temperatures set to reach freezing -10C tonight in parts of the north tonight
Britain is bracing for further snow and ice as yellow weather warnings for snow and ice were issued across the UK with temperatures set to plummet to -10C overnight.
The Met Office has extended a yellow warning for snow and ice covering northern Scotland and north east England until noon on Friday after the record for the coldest night of the year so far was broken for the second night in a row last night.
And the cold weather is not expected to let up tonight, with parts of the north anticipating well below freezing lows of -10C tonight.
Snow showers will affect parts of north east England and northern parts of Scotland, with blizzards even possible in the northernmost parts of the country.
Freezing temperatures continued today in with fog and ice across the city of Paisley, with Scotland on course for its coldest December in over a decade. Pictured: The Grand Fountain in Paisley which had frozen over due to the sub-zero temperatures
A snow covered Greenwich Park in London today as the Met Office issues more warnings over continuing cold weather in the UK
Walkers and cyclists out and about on a snow covered Blackheath Common, London today
A yellow weather warning for snow and ice covering northern Scotland and north east England has been extended until noon on Friday. Snow and ice warnings in the south west are also in place until 10am tomorrow
A few centimetres of snow are likely to accumulate at low levels with the potential for as much as 15-20 cm over higher ground.
Snow and ice warnings are also in place in the south west of England from 6pm on Tuesday until 10am Wednesday.
Met Office spokesperson Becky White said that the areas covered by the warning could see up to 10cms of fresh snow on higher ground.
‘We could see a good few new centimetres of snow accumulation,’ she said.
‘We could see around 1-4cms at lower levels and 5-10cm on higher ground across the Highlands.
‘There will be a risk of ice across the country over the next few days, but particularly tonight.
‘There is a band of rain moving in from the South West, but it may turn into snow as it reaches land.’
A skaters preparing to skate on the frozen Cambridgeshire Fens this morning
The swimmers braved the cold to take a dip in the freezing Serpentine this morning
Swimmers dry themselves after taking a dip in the Serpentine in London today
Emergency services work to free stranded motorists on the Shetland Isles after heavy snow left drivers unable to move their vehicles. Up to 40 cars were stranded near Tresta
She added that the South West could see 1-2cm of snow at lower levels, and 1-10cms of snow at higher ground such as Dartmoor and Exmoor.
An ice warning is in place in East England from 3pm on Tuesday until noon Wednesday.
The national forecaster has also added a yellow ice warning in northern parts of Northern Ireland, including Belfast and Londonderry from noon Tuesday until noon Wednesday.
Braemer, in Aberdeenshire, was the coldest place in the UK on Tuesday night, recording a low of -17.3C, breaking Monday’s record of -15.7C.
The next coldest temperature on Tuesday night was also recorded in Aberdeenshire, at -14.9C in Balmoral.
Scores of schools across the country have been forced to close for a second day due to the cold weather.
Councils from Aberdeenshire to Cambridgeshire reported school closures, for reasons including heating failure, burst pipes and snow and ice.
The RAC experienced its biggest day for breakdowns on record, with around 12,000 drivers needing help.
RAC Breakdown’s Rod Dennis said: ‘Yesterday was officially our busiest day for breakdowns on record, with around 12,000 drivers needing help, the equivalent of eight every minute of the day. Even our busiest day during the infamous Beast from the East in 2018 didn’t see as many people breaking down.
‘We believe two key ingredients have combined to create the worst-ever winter breakdown cocktail – a sustained period of cold weather with an absence of widespread snow that would otherwise keep people indoors, and a big rise in the number of drivers who can’t afford to maintain their vehicles as well as they’d like to due to the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis.
‘Today remains an incredibly demanding day for our patrols, with the rail strikes likely to force yet more people onto the roads.’
Travel disruption also continued on today, with icy roads making conditions difficult.
Blackheath Common in Greenwich, south London, is seen covered in snow today
Foggy conditions are seen at Fletton Parkway on the A1139 near Peterborough today
A snow covered field near Castleton in the Peak District. Snow and ice have swept across parts of the UK, with cold wintry conditions set to continue for days
There was significant traffic on the M25 in Essex this morning as rail strikes commence and freezing temperatures persist
‘It’s the most devastating day of our lives’: Family’s tribute to hero Jack, 10, who ‘died trying to save three boys he didn’t know’ after they fell into frozen lake – as vigil marks tragedy in Solihull
The family a 10-year-old boy who died trying to save three others who had fallen through ice into a lake on Sunday said they were ‘devastated’ by his passing.
The boy, named locally as Jack Johnson, ‘ran and tried to save’ the other children – whom he did not know and who are all believed to be from one family – his aunt Charlotte McIlmurray wrote on Facebook.
Family of Jack Johnson (pictured here) say he jumped into the lake to try and rescue someone who had fallen through the ice
Mourners light candles next to floral and written tributes to the three boys who tragically died in the incident in Babbs Mill Park on Sunday
‘My nephew seen one go through the ice and he ran and tried to save them. We are just broken over it and to find out he died trying to save three lads he didn’t even know, that just sums him up, he was amazing.’
McIlmurray described the loss of Jack and the other boys as a ‘nightmare that two families can’t wake from’, adding that ‘the pain is unimaginable’ but said it would be ‘a million times worse’ for the other family.
‘It has been the most devastating day in our family’s life,’ another relative who wished to remain anonymous told The Telegraph.
The heartbroken community of Solihull gathered at Babbs Mill Park on Monday evening to pay tribute to the young boys.
Dozens of people, including lots of children, placed bunches of flowers, balloons and candles at the base of a tree in the park near Birmingham.
The Met Office said there will be icy stretches on untreated roads, pavements, and cycle paths due to the thawing of snow left over from Monday.
With the weather warnings, the weather agency gave the advice that some roads and railways likely to be affected with longer journey times by road, bus and train.
They also said that some injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces and there will probably be some icy patches on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths.
Northern Ireland is experiencing freezing fog.
Meanwhile, a boy is fighting for his life after falling into an icy lake in Solihull, West Midlands, on Sunday.
Three other boys aged eight, 10 and 11 died after falling into the lake during the same incident.
A report from the Local Government Association (LGA) published last week found that nearly two thirds of councils in England are worried they can’t recruit enough HGV drivers to run their gritting lorries this winter.
‘As this survey shows, councils along with many other organisations have had continued difficulties in recruiting new HGV drivers,’ a spokesperson for the LGA said.
‘As well as this, fast inflating HGV driver salaries in the private sector exacerbates issues in the public sector, with the rises creating a retention as well as a recruitment problem for councils and their contractors.
‘To ensure gritting lorries can get out to treat roads and pavements this winter, councils have been retraining and redeploying existing staff as well as making use of short term agency workers.’
Darren Clark, severe weather resilience manager at National Highways, said they had sent out the appropriate number of gritters to deal with the roads on Monday.
‘We started the autumn and winter season with around 280,000 tonnes of salt stockpiled at our depots and yesterday we used 12,000 tonnes across our network in view of the current weather conditions. We can call upon 530 gritters in our fleet and we sent out the appropriate number to treat the roads in accordance with the conditions in different areas of our network.’
Transport Secretary Mark Harper defended the response of the highways authorities to the cold snap, after motorists were left stranded on the M25.
He said that staff at National Highways had worked ‘incredibly hard’ to try and keep the roads moving.
The travel disruption was followed on Tuesday by the first of a wave of train strikes.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union are pressing ahead with two 48-hour strikes at Network Rail, and 14 train companies, from Tuesday and Friday.
Trains are only running from 7.30am to 6.30pm on this week’s strike days, although many parts of the country will have no services, including most of Scotland and Wales.
The strike has also caused disruption across the London Underground, with the Bakerloo line part suspended between Harrow & Wealdstone to Queens Park due to the rail strike.
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