The –13C big freeze
Snow chaos alert after coldest night
MOTORISTS face deadly black ice on the roads today as sub-zero temperatures bring travel chaos.
Last night was set to be the coldest night of the year with parts of Scotland expected to plunge below -13C.
And as much as 6in of snow could fall in the Midlands and areas in northern England this morning.
The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings and spokeswoman Nicola Maxey said: “The coldest temperature we have seen this year is -13C in Scotland and we are likely to see temperatures slightly below that.”
Met Office forecaster Helen Roberts added: “The wet surfaces – which are rain or snow – are likely to freeze overnight. There is a separate ice warning for the north and west of Scotland and parts of Northern Ireland, mainly for showers falling onto sub-zero roads, so there is a reasonably widespread risk of ice overnight. It will be treacherous on roads that have not been treated or were treated but showers have washed salt away.”
Highways England insisted gritting teams will be working around the clock. Routes most likely to be hit include the M61, M65, M66, the M6 north of junction 36, the M62 between junctions 21 and 23, and the M60 between junctions 15 and 24, plus the A69, A66 Old Spital and A628 Woodhead Pass.
AA president Edmund King said: “Even with main roads clear and welltreated, communities and neighbourhoods off those main roads have been struggling with icy conditions because their minor and residential roads are not as well gritted, if at all.
“Sadly, this has become the winter norm. Snow at the start of the day has been a nasty feature of the cold spell this Christmas but snow adds a new level of difficulty.
“Normally, we expect drivers to have got into winter mode by now but snow on ice can catch out even the wary and those who think their vehicles can handle any conditions.”
Meanwhile, some 100 passengers
It will be treacherous on roads that have not been treated HELEN ROBERTS MET OFFICE FORECASTER
remained stranded at Stansted Airport yesterday morning after snow showers in the early hours led to rows with airline staff. They had all been dealt with by yesterday evening and the airport said things were “back to normal”.
A spokesman added: “Flights are operating on schedule and any passengers who were unable to return home after their flight was cancelled yesterday have been re-booked on to other flights.”
The weather is expected to improve over the weekend but there will be more rain and hill snow for northern England and much of Scotland.
It will be cold with blustery, westerly winds in the north but much milder in the south with early spells of rain and spells of sunshine.