As Bristol Airport is forced to suspend all flight operations and two rare amber warnings are in forced for snow and ice, use our interactive snow tracker to check your local weather
Two rare amber weather warnings are currently in force for snow and ice – with the white stuff already causing disruption.
Flights have been diverted and delayed in and out of Bristol Airport as Southwest England and south Wales have seen the first of the flurries of snow amid the latest cold snap. A crash – thought to have been caused by the weather – has caused delays on the M5 in Somerset.
And the snowstorm is to sweep north overnight with the Midlands set to be worst affected by the early hours of the morning. The Mirror has created an interactive tool, below, with which Brits can assess how severely impacted their area will be in the next 24 hours.
The amber warning which concerns snow for northern England doesn’t expire until 11.59pm tomorrow. The Met Office says: “Snow will reach the south of the warning area later Saturday, then spread north across the rest of the area through Sunday morning. Snow will be persistent and heavy at times, and will likely drift in brisk easterly winds, especially over higher ground.
“Much of the warning area can expect 3-7 cm of snow. Areas above about 150 m will likely see 15-30 cm, with 40 cm for ground above 300 m, before snow begins to ease and clear by the end of Sunday. For some lower-lying areas, such as the Vale of York, snow may mix with rain at times making estimations of snow depths here more difficult. Regardless, travel will likely be difficult, with power line icing an additional impact.”
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Bristol Airport said it had to suspend all flights on Saturday night due to “challenging weather”. It meant several arrivals were instead diverted to Cardiff or Birmingham.
A spokesperson said at around 9pm: “The Bristol Airport team are working hard on snow clearing but challenging weather means that flight operations have been suspended until later tonight. This will mainly impact inbound flights but any concerned customers are advised to contact their airline for more information.”
It was -8C in Oxfordshire on Friday and -7C in Shap, Cumbria, the Met Office said. The mercury plunged to -6C in Hurn, Dorset on the same day. Figures for Saturday are yet to be collated by the weather service.
The weather led to the abandonment of horse racing at Sandown Park in Surrey. Several Football League and Scottish fixtures were called off due to frozen pitches on Saturday as well, including a tie at Cheltenham Town’s The EV Charger Points Stadium.
And National Highways warned a “spell of disruptive snow” would spread across southern and central parts of the road network on Saturday night. Drivers in high-altitude areas, particularly the Cotswolds and Peak District, were warned to take particular care. Gwent Police issued a warning for black ice on Friday.
Road users in England’s north were warned up to 25cm of snow could hit parts of the network including the A66 Old Spittal, A628 Woodhead Pass and M62 at Windy Hill.
