Polar freeze set to disrupt campaign
Flood victim was former High Sheriff
Scotland is to be hit by a blast of bitterly cold weather that could bring snow and disrupt the General Election campaign.
The Polar Vo r t e x phenomenon is a repeat of the big f re e z e of 2010, when November temperatures dropped to -16C, and 2018’s Beast from the East.
The first low- level snow of the season is forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday in the north Central Belt and the Highlands.
But much colder weather is due towards the end of November and start of December as the Polar Vortex loses strength.
Forecasters warned that high- altitude Polar Vortex winds – which spin around the North Pole and trap cold air in the Arctic – will weaken later in the month, allowing polar air to spill south towards Scotland.
Te m p e r a t u r e s this week will fall below average and by midNovember are expected to reach - 10C in the Scottish glens.
This week most of Scotland faces bitter 6C-7C peak daytime temperatures, 3C below average, and colder than Moscow.
A 650,000- tonne salt mountain has been stockpiled by Scots councils and 500 gritting lorries are ready to hit the road. Dan Harris of the Met Office added: “For the second half of November, temperatures are likely to start below average, with potential for widespread frosts and the risk of hill snow for the north.”
A woman swept to her death by floodwater after parts of England were battered by torrential rain was yesterday named as a former High Sheriff of Derbyshire.
Annie Hall was found dead in the early hours of Friday after being washed away in the River Derwent near Matlock, Derbyshire.
The area had been badly affected by flooding after a month’s worth of rain fell in one day. Yesterday, tributes were paid to Mrs
Hall, who served as the county’s High Sheriff in 2017.
Derbyshire Police’s Chief Constable Peter Goodman said: “Annie was a great leader in Derbyshire in both industry and on the civic front.” Her family also released a statement, saying: “We are in great shock and grieving.”
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, during a visit to Yorkshire yesterday, said: “We need much better flood management.”