Travel chaos ahead of one of winter’s coldest weeks
THE coldest week of the year began with travel chaos as temperatures plummeted to 21F (-6C) and snowfall triggered multiple pile-ups.
There were numerous incidents early yesterday after a sudden flurry of snow and icy conditions, as forecasters predicted lows of 7F (-14C) to come this week.
Drivers were stuck on the M25 after two lorries collided at the Dartford Crossing, causing major delays. Police said there had been multiple incidents on the M20 between junctions 8 and 9.
The Met Office issued widespread warnings for snow and ice that remain in place until tomorrow. Craig Snell, a meteorologist, said: “It’s going to be a cold week, plenty of dry weather around, but many places will probably see snow at some point during the week, but for a lot of us not really amounting to much at all.”
A yellow weather warning for sleet and snow is in place for Scotland and northern England until this afternoon, and further warnings are in place until tomorrow morning for the west.
Martin Bowles, Met Office operation meteorologist, said: “The band of snow which is over the UK will move south and east to impact north-west England, and on Wednesday we can expect it to remain very cold, but we won’t see as much snow.”
A front of rain is expected to move through the country on Thursday, before the cold air returns. The Local Government Association said 1.5 million tons of salt had been stockpiled.
Last night, British Airways also cancelled 80 short-haul flights from Heathrow Terminal 5.