It looks bad now ... but it’ll be mild for Mother’s Day!
THE clocks may be about to go forward but the weather seemed to have jumped back a couple of months yesterday.
Snow ploughs, shovels and sledges were out in force after up to six inches of snow fell in some parts of Britain.
The heaviest falls were in the North of England, particularly in the Yorkshire Dales, north Pennines and Cumbria, as temperatures fell to minus 2C (28F).
While children made the most of the snow as some schools were forced to close, motorists faced travel chaos, particularly in hilly areas. In Hawes, North Yorkshire, shovels were required to dig vehicles out of drifts yesterday morning while drivers had to push their cars as traffic came to a standstill on the A66 and A67 in County Durham. The A6 in Cumbria was also blocked.
In Scotland, temperatures fell to minus 9C (16.5F) in Dalwhinnie, Inverness-shire
Despite a chilly breeze, the world’s largest display of rare hyacinths put on a stunning show of colour in the sunshine. Alan Shipp, 79, has been custodian of the National Hyacinth Collection, at Waterbeach, near Cambridge, since 1989 and has more than 100,000 flowering bulbs. ‘The flowers are looking splendid. They will be perfect for Mothering Sunday,’ he said.
Last night forecasters warned of more wintry showers on high ground but added that milder, sunny weather is on the way for the weekend. Temperatures could reach 17C (63F) in some sheltered locations, although easterly winds of up to 30mph will still give a chilly feel in southern England and there is a risk of frost at night. The Met t Office’s Grahame Madge said yesterday’ss wintry blast was due to an area of low pres- sure which will be pushed westwards tomorrow and replaced by an area of high pressure from continental Europe.
‘As we go into Friday, we will pick up brighter conditions which will continue into the weekend,’ he said.
‘However, due to the time of year and the fact the high pressure is coming off the continent, there will be an easterly wind which will be fairly keen at times.