Here comes the thaw!
Flood warning as snow melts
BRITAIN is braced for the big thaw as melting snow and heavy rain bring flood misery.
Temperatures are set to hit 15C this week after much of the country suffered a white-out at the weekend.
Seven flood alerts have been issued across the north, Midlands, south west and Wales.
Homes in Devon were evacuated yesterday after “widespread flooding” caused by heavy downpours.
Families were forced to flee in Kentisbury and Combe Martin, while the A399 was closed after landslides.
An Environment Agency spokesman warned of UK-wide travel chaos and said homes and businesses were at risk from fastmoving water.
He said: “Local river and surface ® water flooding is possible due to heavy rain. This may be combined with snow melt and there may be travel disruption.”
The washout follows the coldest night-time temperatures in two years at the weekend, with some parts blanketed in more than a foot of snow.
Many took advantage of the Arctic conditions, sledging down hills, making snowmen, snow caves and even taking to snowmobiles across the north and Scotland.
David and Victoria Beckham’s daughter Harper, six, shared a video of herself making snow angels, earning more than 4,000 views.
In Scotland, temperatures plummeted to -13C.
Two climbers survived a night in blizzards at 3,000ft atop Highlands peak Bidean Nam Bian in Glencoe. The stricken pair were airlifted to safety after calling police on Friday evening before finally being spotted the following morning by a rescue helicopter.
In Glencoe, a popular skiing resort, Deliveroo riders Jake YuillKirkwood and Connor Small took to skis to dispatch hot takeaways to frozen thrill-seekers.
But thermometers are now due to rise into double figures thanks to a blast of muggy air.
Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna said: “The trend over the next few days is for the weather to turn much milder but quite unsettled at times.
“There is a lot of lying snow which is already starting to thaw. Snowfall will also turn back to rain across most areas.
“Temperatures of 14C are likely in the south.”