Snow chaos... and more on the way
( but it’s fun for some!)
SNOW brought some late festive magic for millions yesterday while for others it meant traffic misery with more on the way as temperatures fall.
Roads were closed and travel warnings put in place across England and Wales as up to 3in of snow fell.
The blanketing came on the back of the two- day Storm Bella, which caused flooding of homes and roads as well as winds of up to 100mph.
Forecasters say more snow and ice is expected this week.
The Met Office said last night: “An Atlantic frontal system looks likely to bring rain into south- western Britain on Wednesday. As this moves further east into colder air there is a chance of this rain turning to snow.
“The extent of any snow is very uncertain, but 2 to 5cm ( 0.8 to 2in) could fall across a swathe of southern Wales, central and southern England, with a small chance of 10 to 15cm ( 4 to 6in) settling in a few places.
“As the rain and snow clears on Wednesday night there is a risk of widespread ice forming on untreated surfaces.” Yesterday’s snow saw many families getting out their sleds to make the most of the bank holiday. However Gloucestershire Police tweeted the snow there was so heavy that the public should “only go out if it is essential to do so”.
Staffordshire Police warned of “serious disruption” as some roads became impassable and Haydock racecourse in Merseyside cancelled tomorrow’s meet due to snow.
In central York, barriers and sandbags were deployed to prevent further flooding after the River Ouse burst. In total 85 flood warnings remained in England.
But the weekend’s gales meant that for the first time ever more than half of Britain’s electricity was generated by wind power on Saturday.