Published on : Friday, February 1, 2019
The freezing weather is moving across southern England and Wales, affecting Wiltshire, Hampshire, Sussex and Kent. Warnings have been issued of rail delays and flights cancellations into Friday morning.
The Met Office has wa
rned of “treacherous driving conditions” in some southern areas.
There are two yellow warnings in place for snow and ice for large parts of the UK, lasting until Friday afternoon.
Snow depths of 12cm (5in) have been recorded in Bodmin, Cornwall, the Met Office said. Parts of Cumbria have seen 8cm of snow, while there was 7cm recorded in Inverness-shire and 5cm in Powys.
An “intensive effort” is taking place to rescue motorists stuck on the A30 at Bodmin Moor, local police said. Highways England said traffic was moving “very slowly forward”.
Paula Martin, chief executive of Cornwall Air Ambulance, was in one of the cars which got stranded.
“I got within two miles of home and the snow arrived very quickly and very suddenly. Within minutes the A30 very quickly became impassable, especially for the lorries – and it went from bad to worse”, she said.
Cornwall Council has warned that abandoned vehicles on the A30 and other roads are delaying efforts to free trapped motorists.”
British Airways advised customers to check their flight status for cancellations and said people due to travel on short-haul flights were being offered the option to postpone their journey.
“Safety is always our priority, and we’re working hard to keep our operation moving. We’re sorry that some of our services are being delayed by the weather conditions,” a spokeswoman said.
Southeastern Trains said 21 trains were cancelled or altered to minimise the impact of ice forming on the rails.
It will run its “winter weather timetable” on Friday – with passengers warned of peak services being busier than normal because of changes to some train times.
South Western Railway has warned passengers that trains may be cancelled on Friday morning while the tracks are checked and cleared.
Up to 10cm of snow is expected in parts of the UK with snow depths of 5cm (2in) already recorded in Cornwall and Mid Wales, the Met Office says.
Further snow is forecast overnight into Friday, with 5-10cm (2-4in) expected in Wales and south west England.
Mid and south Wales, central and southern parts of England, and south east England are seeing the worst of the weather.
The north east of England and north Scotland will also see snow showers and cold temperatures on Thursday night. There are yellow warnings for snow and ice until lunchtime on Friday in large parts of Wales and England, including London, and northern and eastern Scotland.
Tags: storm sweeps UK