BLIZZARD BRITAIN
SWATHES of flood-ravaged Britain were blanketed in snow yesterday as forecasters warned of more misery sweeping in.
Northern England – including the Angel of the North in Gateshead, right – took the brunt of the treacherous conditions along with Scotland and Northern Ireland. Homes in the Midlands and Wales faced fresh flooding.
The bleak end of winter follows three weeks of downpours beginning with Storm Ciara followed by Storm Dennis.
Last night the Met Office issued an ice warning for today as more snow – and rain – is predicted.
Risk
Forecaster Aidan McGivern said: “It’s going to be cold for the next few days across the UK, with hail, sleet and snow showers virtually anywhere. And it stays like that up to the weekend for northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. But for the South there is further uncertain weather.
“Tuesday starts with wintry showers in northern and western Britain, with a risk of icy patches in the North.
“There will be rain at lower levels, thunder almost everywhere and snow building up over the hills.
“With the wind, the temperature will feel like zero.”
His warning comes after motorists were forced to crawl along in snowstorms in Yorkshire yesterday.
But it was better news for children – if not their parents – as 300 schools shut due to snow in North and West Yorks, Co Durham, Northumberland and the Lake District. The Met Office’s Marco Petagna warned commuters to monitor the conditions over the next few days, saying: “We’re seeing ice and frost most nights. People need to keep an eye out.”
There are also hundreds of flood warnings and alerts across England, from St Ives in Cornwall to Carlisle near the Scottish border.
Last night these included two severe warnings, meaning a danger to life, 111 warnings where immediate action could be required and 202 serious alerts – cautioning people to be prepared.
So far this month England has had more than 141 per cent of its average rainfall.
Yesterday the Environment Agency said the River Severn was still rising and “flooding of property is expected to continue” in Shrewsbury, Shropshire.
Environment Secretary George Eustice urged people living in flood areas to remain vigilant but told Parliament that new flood defences had vastly reduced the number of properties at risk.
Around 1,400 homes had been flooded this time, he admitted, “but to put this into context, in the floods of 2007, 55,000 properties were flooded, with similar volumes of water in place this year”.
He also revealed that 18 gauges across 15 rivers had recorded their highest water levels on record, including the Colne, Ribble, Calder, Aire, Trent, Severn, Wye, Lugg and Derwent.
Meanwhile, the chief executive of the Environment Agency will tell officials tomorrow that flood plains should only be built on if “there is no real alternative”.
Sir James Bevan will also say to London’s World Water-Tech Innovation Summit: “The best way to defuse the weather bomb is better protection and stronger resilience.We need both.”
Concerns
The flooding concerns come as Downing Street defends Boris Johnson’s continued absence from water-disrupted areas.
Yesterday he was staying at Chevening, the Foreign Secretary’s grace-and-favour estate in Kent.
A No10 spokesman said: “The Environment Secretary George Eustice is rightly ensuring teams working around the clock have the support and resources they need.
“It’s important not to distract from that ongoing effort.”