The point of snow return
Fears of travel chaos as Met issues warning
A BITTER return to snow and ice could cause travel disruption in some parts of Scotland this morning.
The Met Office has issued a yellow ‘be aware’ warning for snow and ice for the spine of the country, starting north of the Central Belt and extending above Inverness.
It means the A9 could be affected as it sits within the heart of the warning area. Train services to Glasgow and Edinburgh could also be delayed or cancelled.
Specific regions affected include Central, Tayside and Fife, Highlands and Islands and Argyll and Bute. Up to two inches (5cm) of snow could fall on higher ground, mainly above 1,000ft.
According to the Met Office, the heavy snow was due to begin last night and will continue until around 10am today.
Forecaster Oli Claydon said: ‘This warning has taken us by surprise. Low pressure, which resulted in high winds, is moving away east. As it does so, it draws down polar maritime air from the north-west.
‘Things become a bit wintry on the hills and there’s a risk of hail and thunder.’
Following an unsettled weekend, Mr Claydon said high pressure would bring calmer, warmer conditions by the start of next week.
He added: ‘It means air will be coming up from the Azores, so things should turn milder by the middle of next week.’
Meanwhile, the Met Office says climate change will make record-breaking rainfall ten times more likely by the end of the century. October
3 last year saw the most extreme rainfall in the UK in records going back to 1891.
So much rain fell that day, it equalled the total volume of water contained in Loch Ness. While that kind of event is expected once in every 100 years, the Met Office says climate change will bring that forward to once in 30 years by 2100.
Across the rest of the UK, gales gusting at up to 86mph wreaked havoc yesterday, overturning lorries, blowing down power lines and toppling trees.
Coastal areas and high ground took the brunt of the battering through Wednesday night and into yesterday morning, when there was also driving rain.
The strongest winds were recorded at Capel Curig, Gwynedd, North Wales, with gusts of 86mph.
Meanwhile, wind speeds at Needles Point, on the Isle of Wight, and in Aberdaron, also in Gwynedd, reached 84mph. Langdon Bay, on the Kent coast, recorded gusts of 61.1mph.
Articulated lorries were blown over on the A417, at Gloucester, and the A69 between Hexham and Corbridge, Northumberland.
Many areas were hit by power cuts, with hundreds of households affected in Truro, Cornwall; Stourporton-Severn, Worcestershire; Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, and Builth Wells, Powys.
High seas battered coastal areas, with waves and spray smashing ashore, more than 20ft high – taller than a double decker bus – at Aberystwyth in Wales, and in Cornwall.
‘Taken us by surprise’