We’re snowed under
South blanketed in white as UK gripped by freeze
SNOW and ice gripped swathes of southern England yesterday as temperatures plunged with forecasters warning the cold snap could last a month.
Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon said Britain was in the grip of a ‘cold regime and that theme continues for much of the week’. He added that ‘temperatures will remain below average for this time of year’.
As January goes on, northerly winds are set to bring a blast of Arctic air with more snow showers across the North and ‘a smaller risk of a period of snow across some southern areas for a time’.
Yesterday snow showers were reported in places including Rochester, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells in Kent, plus Hartfield and Ashdown Forest in East Sussex.
The arrival of wintry weather follows a wet and windy Christmas and New Year, most recently with Storm Henk bringing a deluge of rain, followed by flooding. More than 130 flood warnings were still in place yesterday, mostly across southern England but also sections of the Severn in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire plus the Trent in Nottinghamshire.
Last night temperatures were predicted to fall as low as -9C (15.8F) in parts of Scotland and -6C (21F) in rural Wales.
Met Office chief forecaster Paul Gundersen added there could be ‘some snow showers across southern areas of England and South Wales’.
Tonight could also be bitterly cold, down to -7C (19F) in South West England and parts of Wales.
Cold health alerts, especially for the over-65s and those with medical conditions, were issued by the UK Health Security Agency to last until Friday.