Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Ice screams
Met Office warn of rare freezing rain to blast UK Snow and bitter wind also set to cause chaos
BRITAIN is braced for heavy snow and rare freezing rain today as the full force of winter hits the country.
With biting winds, temperatures are expected to fall as low as -11C over the weekend.
Yesterday the Met Office issued several “danger to life” warnings for ice and snow.
The amber alerts, urging people to prepare for disruption and power cuts, are in effect for parts of Scotland, the North of England and Midlands.
Forecasters also said freezing rain – water falling as supercooled droplets that freeze on touching a cold surface – could make roads and pavements treacherous. Unlike snow or hail, the ice that forms can be almost invisible, making it dangerous for drivers.
A Met Office spokesman said: “Freezing rain is rare in the British Isles but when it does occur that impact can be very severe. This is due to the fact that it can form very quickly, can be very difficult to see and is incredibly slippery.”
For much of the UK temperatures will hardly rise above 2C. Snow could be as deep as 20cm in the North and Scotland, with up to 40cm on the highest peaks. The Met Office added yesterday: “There will be quite severe weather tomorrow.
“It could have some impact on people’s plans this weekend.”
But there could be a silver lining as bookies shortened the odds of a white Christmas.
This is defined as a single snowflake falling somewhere in the UK on December 25.
Bookmaker Ladbrokes was offering an odds-on 2/7.
Spokesman Alex Apati said: “The odds are dropping as fast as the temperatures.”
William Hill said Aberdeen was the most likely city to have a white Christmas.