The UK is facing more ice, snow and flooding today as an Arctic blast continues bringing chaos to road users and warnings are in place from the Met Office and the Environment Agency
Brits face more travel chaos today from severe flooding along with heavy snow and ice as temperatures are expected to drop to -7C.
The Arctic blast has caused havoc this week with roads ground to a standstill from the wintry conditions and flooding caused by melting snow and rain. And as the week goes on it could get colder with weather forecasters predicting it could reach -20C in Scotland and -15C in northern England on Thursday night.
On Tuesday morning weather maps showed practically the whole country below zero at 6am with the coldest area in northern England where it is -7C while in central Scotland it is -6C and in the Midlands -5C. There are around 107 warnings from the Environment Agency in place, mainly in northern and central England, and a further 199 flood alerts. There is a further warning and six alerts in Wales.
Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service has attended dozens of call-outs since Monday and a danger-to-life warning was issued yesterday for the River Soar near Barrow upon Soar.
With heavy rain and snow melt combining there is an ongoing flood risk in parts of the country. Stefan Laeger, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said: “The recent heavy rain combined with melting snow means it is probable significant river flooding will continue in Leicestershire today, with minor river flooding probable in some other parts of the country, continuing through to Thursday for some larger rivers.
“Environment Agency teams continue to be out on the ground, operating flood defences, taking action to reduce the impact of flooding, issuing flood warnings and supporting those communities affected. We urge people to remain vigilant over the next few days and advise anyone travelling to be especially careful and urge people to stay away from swollen rivers and not to drive through flood water as just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car.
The impact has seen the death of a man in North Yorkshire, with police saying his body was recovered on Monday from an area of flooding in Beal. The EA also estimated that 300 properties have flooded across England since New Year’s Eve. Hundreds of schools have been closed, with Bradford City Council saying 184 were shut in its area on Tuesday, as well as more than a dozen in Lancashire and eight in Northern Ireland.
Sleet, snow and rain forecast for northern Scotland and Northern Ireland mean yellow warnings for snow and ice are in place from Tuesday afternoon until Wednesday at midday. Southern England is also braced for snow, with a yellow weather warning in place from 9am until midnight on Wednesday.
The Met Office has warned of a small chance of power cuts and the potential for rural communities to be cut off. Passengers and vehicles could also become stranded in the snow, the national weather service said.
So far part of the A1 in Lincolnshire has been closed. And the Great Western Railway line between Liskeard and Looe in Cornwall also couldn’t run due to flooding. There has also been disruption to air travel with Manchester, Bristol and Liverpool John Lennon airports all having suspended flights.
