LET IT BLOW! LET IT BLOW! LET IT BLOW!
spells of strong winds are expected over Christmas – first at the end of this week and then from Boxing Day and again before New Year’s Day. “Very wet conditions are possible.” Leon Brown, head of meteorological operations at The Weather Channel, urged the public: “Beware stormy weather between Christmas and New Year. A strong westerly jet stream is likely to open the floodgates from the Atlantic.”
The dire warnings come after deadly freezing fog blanketed the country yesterday morning. The lethal weather conditions cloaked roads – reducing visibility down to mere metres on streets slick with black ice and frost.
One teenager died and his friend was left fighting for life after their car veered off the road and smashed into a tree in Cornwall.
The main A39 road between Truro and Falmouth, Cornwall, was closed for more than nine hours following the accident.
There was also misery for thousands of travellers who were left stranded in airports around Britain as planes were grounded after the thick wall of mist swamped airfields.
British Airways cancelled a slew of its Heathrow flights.
The airline said in a statement: “Forecast fog and freezing conditions across parts of southern England and northern Europe meant a slight reduction in our short-haul flight schedule this morning.
“We know that this is an important time for many families to travel and we are very sorry for the disruption to some of our customers’ journeys.” A raft of flights at Gatwick and London City airports were also axed due to the weather.
Passengers planning a festive winter break in Europe were forced to make last-minute changes to their trips as chaos gripped the airports.
And no flights at all were able to take off or land at Manchester Airport for several hours as one runway was shut due to fog and another was closed for emergency maintenance.