First a heatwave then f loods and now... bitter cold
BRITAIN’S topsy-turvy weather will take a frosty turn this weekend as the country braces itself for bitter Arctic winds.
After the hottest May spell for four years last week, followed by Wednesday’s downpours, temperatures are set to plunge below freezing.
Forecasters have warned Britain will be colder than Russia with harsh frosts and even snow.
Temperatures of -2C overnight and barely into double figures by day will be lower than St Petersburg, Moscow, and Stockholm in Sweden.
And as the mercury nosedives experts warn Britain could run short of apples, pears and other fruits this summer thanks to late April frosts.
Harsh Arctic winds brought below-average temperatures, frosts and snow through last month.
Experts say the cold weather hit just as blossom was beginning to develop on fruit trees, threatening this year’s harvest.
Sean Sparling, vice chairman of the Association of Independent Crop Consultants, said: “Late frosts have affected buds on oil seed rape crops and are likely to have hampered development of some varieties of fruit.
“Apples, pears, cherries – all these things which rely on a good blossom to produce the fruits could be affected. Even at the start of the month we
CURSE OF FRIDAY 13TH HITS TRAVELLERS
COMMUTERS were yesterday hit by the curse of Friday 13th with big delays on the roads and the trains.
Hundreds of thousands faced cancellations and overcrowding in the morning rush hour on London’s Underground after a man was hit by a train in a suspected suicide attempt at Kennington.
The station was evacuated and services suspended on parts of the Northern Line – one of London’s busiest. One passenger, Catherine Long, tweeted that she had been stuck in an overcrowded carriage for an hour with no end in sight.
British Transport Police said the man hit by the train was recovering in hospital. Services did not start getting back to normal until 9am, causing huge delays for workers were getting down below freezing in some places putting early varieties at risk.” Jack Ward, chief executive of the British Growers Association which includes the Fruit Growers Alliance, said extreme weather affects crop quality and harvest timings.
He said: “Despite having a wealth of technology, the weather is the single biggest determining factor over the production of food.
“Virtually any crop grown in the UK could be affected in terms of quality of produce and the timing of harvests.” Nature is in for another shock this weekend as temperatures plummet to around 15C (59F) lower than last week.
Daytime temperatures today and tomorrow will hover around 12C (54F) in the South with highs of just 9C (48F) or 10C (50F) elsewhere. The mercury will dip to -2C (28F) across Scotland and the North overnight with lows touching freezing even in the far south.
But the cold snap will be short-lived with temperatures expected to return to normal next week.
Exacta Weather’s James Madden said: “Despite a cooler and fresher blip this weekend we will be seeing a quick return to warmer weather from dominant high pressure for in or around the mid-month period.” heading into the City. Meanwhile South West Trains passengers faced morning rush hour delays between Woking and Guildford in Surrey after a tree came down on the line at Worplesdon.
And trains between Doncaster and Leeds were subject to delays all morning after a vehicle hit a rail bridge.
On the roads, Britain’s busiest motorway, the M25, suffered heavy congestion after two lanes were shut between junctions 25 and 26 near Enfield following a collision. A lane was closed at junction 2 of the M25 after a lorry broke down at the A2 roundabout.
But commuters had one bit of good news yesterday – it will be the only Friday 13th of the year.