Fresh weather warnings as UK hit by cold snap
London: Freezing temperatures and snowfall continued across parts of the UK on Wednesday after weather warnings covered all four nations.
Yellow warnings for ice and snow were prompted by the first snowfall of the season, which caused more than 200 schools to close on Tuesday. New warnings were announced for parts of the UK going into Thursday and the weekend.
Icy conditions led to warnings vehicles could be stranded, power cuts may occur and rural areas could be cut off.
National Rail advised passengers to check their journey before travelling.
Temperatures widely dropped to between -1C (30.2F) and -4C (24.8F) across the UK on Wednesday morning, getting as low as -7.8C the Grampians, Scotland, and -7C in Shap, Cumbria.
Further heavy snow fell in northern Scotland overnight, while north Wales and the midlands also woke up to fresh snow on the ground.
Yellow weather warnings were in place for parts of all UK nations early on Wednesday, signalling likely disruption to travel and a danger of slips and falls on icy ground.
A new warning for ice will kick in at 16:00 for most of Scotland as well as much of mid and north Wales, Northern Ireland, the West Midlands, the north of England and Northern Ireland.
This will last until 10:00 on Thursday.
Parts of northern Scotland and its west coast are covered by snow and ice warnings until 12:00 on Thursday.
PA Media A black Mercedes Benz has its headlights and windscreen wipers on as it navigates through a snowstorm on a road which is already covered in snow in the North York Moors National ParkPA Media
North Yorkshire is one of the areas impacted by travel disruption
Meanwhile, a yellow warning for snow will come into force in much of South West England at 05:00 on Thursday, lasting until 15:00.
In pictures: Chilly scenes across the South West
On Wednesday, nearly 100 schools and nurseries were shut in Scotland as well as almost 50 in Wales and at least 30 in England due to frosty conditions.
Commuters were advised to plan ahead and take extra care while driving.
In Cornwall, a person was taken to hospital after a four-vehicle crash in icy conditions, police said.
Elsewhere in Aberdeenshire, a bus ended up on its side in icy road conditions in the New Leeds area on Tuesday. There were no injuries.
The RAC said it had seen a sharp rise in breakdowns, mostly due to people’s batteries failing in the cold.
It urged drivers to travel prepared for a breakdown.
“A blanket, warm waterproof coat and gloves, sturdy footwear and a charging cable and mobile power bank are all essentials,” said spokeswoman Alice Simpson.
Transport for Wales said 13% of its rail services had been disrupted by severe weather, while crashes were reported on snowy roads.
In north Wales, trains were suspended between Llandudno and Blaenau Ffestiniog until about 07:30 on Wednesday, while a road in Wrexham was blocked by a lorry stuck in snow.
Northern Ireland avoided the worst of the snow, but Translink warned of disruption to some services in the Magherafelt and Cookstown areas, including school routes, due to road conditions.
ScotRail said it was struggling to source rail replacement transport due to the weather, after a fallen tree caused disruption to some services in and out of Aberdeen – but tickets were valid on existing Stagecoach North services.
A raft of services were disrupted on the Merseyrail train network, while road disruptions were reported in parts of North Yorkshire.
North Yorkshire Police earlier reported the A169 Sleights to Whitby, A171 Fylingdales, A171 north of Whitby and A174 Whitby towards Guisborough were all impassable, but have said the roads were open and “passable with care” on Wednesday afternoon.
Temperatures in the coming days will be much lower than the mid-November average by day – and are expected to fall below freezing by night.
They are predicted to drop to -2C in London on Friday, -4C in Birmingham and -7C further north.
The average November temperature for London is 11C during the day and 5C at night.
The Met Office has issued a yellow warning of heavy snow followed by rain over the weekend, covering much of Scotland, northern England and parts of the Midlands.
On Monday, Scotland had its coldest early winter night since 1998, with temperatures in Braemar in Aberdeenshire reaching a low of -11.2C.
Yellow Stagecoach bus on side at side of road, next to a snow-covered field.
Meanwhile, an amber cold weather alert is in place for much of England – which means that there is an increased health risk to vulnerable people.
The alert is set to last until 18:00 on Saturday, with the UK health security agency (UKHSA) warning that the weather could have an impact on the whole health service and urging people to check on those who may be at risk.
As the weather turns colder, some people may be eligible for cold weather payments – a government benefit top-up to help with fuel bills during times of exceptionally cold weather.
Those who qualify must already be receiving certain benefits and meet additional criteria outlined on the government’s website.
The average temperature in the local area must be 0C – or less – for seven days in a row or be forecast to be below freezing for seven consecutive days.
Every postcode in England and Wales is linked to a weather station. Payments are made to eligible people when their station records or forecasts an average temperature of 0C – or less – for seven days in a row.
