No thaw in sight for the big freeze
Frozen Britain is to be hit by more heavy snow today after another day of travel chaos saw anger boil over as cancelled flights left hundreds of air passengers stranded overnight. Temperatures below 8.6F (minus 13C) were expected overnight in parts of Scotland, to make it the coldest night of the year.
‘The coldest temperature we have seen this year is minus 13C and we are likely to see temperatures below that’
FROZEN Britain is to be hit by more heavy snow today after another day of travel chaos saw anger boil over as cancelled flights left hundreds of air passengers stranded overnight.
Arctic air hovering across the UK caused the mercury to plummet last night, with temperatures below 8.6F (minus 13C) in parts of Scotland expected to make it Britain’s coldest of the year. After several days of weatherrelated travel disruption, heavy snow is again predicted to fall today, with the Met Office issuing an amber warning in anticipation of it covering the East Midlands, North West and Yorkshire.
The Met Office warning predicts accumulations of up to 4ins (10cm) are likely and up to 6ins (15cm) could fall over higher ground.
Tempers flared as up to 300 passengers spent the night at Stansted Airport after snow and ice forced dozens of Ryanair and easyjet flights to be scrapped or delayed.
Images posted on social media showed families trying to sleep on seats in the arrivals hall in the early hours of Thursday, with one onlooker describing “tension” in the terminal as frustrated travellers found themselves facing hours of delays “because of a few centimetres of snow”.
Ice left officials at Stansted Airport having to close the runway twice, leading to the cancellation of 27 inbound and 27 outbound flights on Wednesday night. Around 50 flights were cancelled at Luton. Some disruption to flights continued into yesterday as planes required de-icing.
At Stansted, there were reports of outgoing passengers having to wait for hours to reclaim their luggage after flights had been axed, with some complaining of a “shocking” lack of communication by officials.
Staff are said to have resorted to using pen and paper to communicate with passengers after a handwritten poster was put up, pleading: “Please be patient.” Airport officials said they provided beds and blankets for people stuck in the terminal.
A spokesman added: “Free food and drinks have been provided to delayed passengers throughout the day.”
Last night the Met Office warned: “Travel delays on roads are likely, stranding some vehicles and passengers. Some delays and cancellations to rail and air travel are likely. There is a possibility that some rural communities could become temporarily cut off. Power cuts may also occur.”
With the amber warning in place between 4am today until 11am, a wider yellow warning for snow has also been issued for southern and eastern Scotland, northern England and the Midlands. Northern Ireland also has a country-wide yellow warning for ice and snow from 12am until 9am today.
Nicola Maxey, from the Met Office, warned that last night may have been the “coldest night of the year so far” for many. “The coldest temperature we have seen this year is minus 13C in Scotland, and we are likely to see temperatures slightly below that,” she added. “But we are not talking about those extremes in the town and city centres, it is out in rural areas, more exposed areas, particularly over lying snow where you see temperatures drop the most.”
The Met Office said temperatures fell to as low as 24F (minus 4.5C) in Katesbridge, Co Down, in the early hours of yesterday, while most parts of the UK hovered around 32F (0C).
The weekend is likely to bring much milder conditions for many areas, with early spells of rain on Sunday before drier conditions and sunshine.
The RAC said ice caused an “incredibly busy” morning yesterday, and as a result of the conditions dealt with a number of battery failures, minor bumps, shunts and skidding.
Another motoring group, the AA, described the country’s roads yesterday as “appalling”.