Britain braces itself for 10-hour snow blizzard after coldest night

Britain faces up to three inches of snow today amid sub-zero conditions after the country’s coldest night in seven years saw temperatures plummet beyond -14C (7F).

Up to 2.8in (7cm) in just of snow could fall in just two hours over parts of Wales and South West England tonight into tomorrow – with snowfalls of up to 4in (10cm) in nine hours, and 1in (3cm) over the rest of England.

Braemar in Aberdeenshire was the UK’s coldest spot overnight where temperatures fell to -14.4C (6.1F) – well below the previous record for the 2018/19 winter of -10.8C (12.6F) set in the same village on January 18. 

The overnight low was also Britain’s coldest night for seven years, since the -15.6C (3.9F) on February 11, 2012 at Holbeach, Lincolnshire – beating a record within that period of -14.1C (6.6F) on February 14, 2016, also at Braemar. 

All four UK countries set new records for this winter overnight with Sennybridge in Wales down to -9.3C (15.3F), Magilligan in Northern Ireland falling to -8.5C (16.7F) and Redesdale Camp in Northumberland at -10.5C (13.1F).

The freezing temperatures have led to weather warnings being issued by the Met Office for snow, ice and fog today and into Friday. Met Office forecaster Mark Wilson said it had been a ‘very, very cold night’.

He added: ‘Tonight we could see similar temperatures in Scotland, but Northern Ireland, England and Wales probably won’t be quite as cold. Saturday night into Sunday could also be very cold.’

Southeastern Trains said 21 services were cancelled or altered this morning to minimise the impact of ice forming on the rails and ensure lines were clear and that it would run its ‘winter weather timetable’ tomorrow.

Meanwhile trains through South East London’s busiest interchange were delayed or cancelled during rush hour today. Signalling problems at Lewisham meant Southeastern customers suffered severe disruption. 

There are also problems on the rails affecting people heading to and from Heathrow and Gatwick airports, while passengers also faced disruption in the likes of Ipswich, Birmingham, Sheffield and Edinburgh. 

Public Health England warned people to look out for friends, relatives and neighbours at risk. Officials said each winter, thousands die from illnesses linked to exposure to the cold when indoor and outside. 

PHE public health consultant Emer O’Connell said: ‘With continued cold weather forecast, now is the time to prepare and look out for those most at risk of falling ill.  

This #UKSnow graphic shows where people are posting on Twitter about snow falling across the UK today      

‘If you can, check on family, friends and neighbours who are older, have heart and lung conditions or young children as all these groups are particularly vulnerable to the effects of cold.’

A level three cold weather alert for ‘severe weather action’ remains in place for Northern England, warning of increased health risks to vulnerable patients and disruption to the delivery of services.

Police in Surrey warned of potentially deadly conditions on the roads thanks to black ice on untreated surfaces after a lorry and two cars crashed on the M25 near Cobham just before 6am this morning.

Richard Leonard, head of road safety at Highways England, said: ‘Gritters will be out treating our roads around the clock, but it is still important to drive to the conditions when snow is forecast. 

‘Keep your distance and reduce your speed, because even in conditions that seem normal, and where the snow is not settling, it can be slippery if ice patches have formed, or where fresh grit has not been worked into the carriageway.

‘Drivers should plan their journeys, monitor weather reports and pack a snow kit of blankets, food, water and a shovel.’

Manchester and Liverpool airports were brought to a standstill yesterday morning, and hundreds of schools closed across the UK – including more than 200 in Greater Manchester – due to the harsh conditions.  

Mr Wilson said central England and Wales could bear the brunt of the snow this afternoon and evening as wet weather coming through the South West turns wintry, with some places seeing up to 4in (10cm) of snow.

The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for snow between 2pm and 9pm today.

Its website states the warning covers London and South East England, the South West and Wales. Parts of Devon, Somerset, Gloucestershire, Dorset and south Wales will be among the most affected.

Pembrokeshire County Council said four schools would be closing early today due to the ‘forecast for snow and icy road conditions’. Ysgol y Preseli will close at 12pm, Ysgol Caer Elen and Tavernspite at 1pm and Portfield Special School in Haverfordwest at 12.30pm.

School transport has been arranged for those closures and mobilised for a further 11 schools in the area.

The Arctic grip on the weather has already caused chaos for thousands. Airport runways at Liverpool and Manchester were blocked yesterday, and roads and railways brought to a standstill. The snow also shut 400 schools across northern England and North Wales.

This morning, ice and a blanket of freezing fog was forecast to extend across England, from the Pennines to the Thames Valley. The fog could affect flights and is expected to make rush-hour driving hazardous, forecasters say.

Wintry showers were due to have brought an inch more snow overnight, particularly in north eastern England as far south as the Humber estuary.

But worse is to come, with a further band of rain, sleet and snow due to arrive from lunchtime today. It could bring up to four inches of snow to Wales and the South West.

Most of the South, along with central and eastern England, Manchester, Liverpool, and South and West Yorkshire will see smaller snowfalls.

The wintry conditions are likely to last overnight and through tomorrow, even lingering into the evening. Only the far North of England, where it is due to be fine but cold, is likely to escape.

The weekend is set to be mostly fine, dry and cold, though areas near the east coast could face further wintry showers. Hard frosts are expected until at least Sunday. More very cold weather is expected through next week.

Yesterday morning, some made light of their grim commute. Footage of a man making his way down a road in Didsbury, Manchester, on skis was shared on social media.

There were two-hour traffic jams in some parts of North-West England, and railways around Liverpool were closed while ice was cleared.

Snow meant Manchester airport was closed until late morning, when one of its two runways reopened. More than 100 flights were disrupted. At Liverpool airport, 12 flights were disrupted.

Snow and ice also caused disruption in South-West England, with the A38 blocked between Whiddon Down and Okehampton, Devon, and schools closed.

There was a spate of road accidents across the country caused by treacherous roads yesterday. Motorists were warned to take extra care today and to take warm clothing, food, water and a shovel in case they become stranded. 

Meanwhile Scotland is said to be facing more than a month of bone-chilling temperatures as Siberian winds batter the country. 

A long-range forecast by the Met Office predicts weeks of sub-zero conditions and snow flurries.

Western and northern parts of Scotland remain under a yellow ‘be aware’ warning for ice, which began last night and continues until 11am today.

Overnight showers were expected to freeze on untreated surfaces, coupled with the threat from melted snow refreezing. 

Tonight, another yellow warning for snow and ice kicks in, this time for North and East Scotland, including Edinburgh.

But winter’s icy grip will tighten as freezing February gives way to an even colder March. The Met Office long-range forecast says it will stay ‘mostly cold, with frost and ice likely overnight’ between February 4 and 13.

And from Valentine’s Day until February 28 it warns ‘cold conditions are often likely to dominate the weather’.

It adds: ‘Towards late February there is the possibility of a colder, more easterly flow developing, though the signal for this has decreased in recent days.’

The icy conditions will raise the risk of people falling on icy pavements and streets. There is also likely to be an impact on the transport network, meaning longer journey times by road and rail.

The avalanche risk in three of Scotland’s five mountain areas has been raised to ‘considerable’ following recent heavy snowfall.

Scottish travellers endured more disruption yesterday. On the roads, a gritter overturned on the A828 near Appin, Argyll. 

The driver was taken to hospital, though not badly hurt. The A85 in Argyll was shut in both directions when an HGV overturned east of Dalmally.

Emma Smith of the Met Office said: ‘Looking ahead through February, generally cold conditions are likely through the month. Things could turn even colder at the beginning of March.’

* Taken any photos of snow in Britain today? Please email pictures@mailonline.co.uk with their location *   

Someone’s having a ball at least! Manchester Airport worker blithely rolls snowball… while fellow staff clear runway as deep freeze grounds flights

Their airfield team had been working hard through the night to try to keep the runways clear as heavy snow fell.

But one worker at Manchester Airport was clearly intent on having at least a bit of fun, as she was seen rolling a snowball with her feet next to a Ryanair plane.

The moment was caught on camera by a passenger in the terminal yesterday, who tweeted: ‘Everyone is working really hard to clear the runway. Except this person.’

The Twitter user, called ‘Chloe’, also posted that the worker was ‘just having a bit of fun, as am I’, adding: ‘This is just a funny observation – nothing meant by it!’

Flights were delayed and cancelled yesterday as heavy snow fell over the Greater Manchester area, which also resulted in more than 210 schools being closed.

The airport said yesterday: ‘Our airfield team has been working through the night to keep the runways clear, which resulted in the day’s operations starting as planned.

‘However, as conditions worsened significantly (yesterday) morning, we took the decision to temporarily close our runways.’

One of its runways was reopened by 10.30am yesterday, but customers were still advised to check the status of their flight with the airline.

Officials worked to ‘mitigate the challenging conditions and hope to minimise further impacts’. The airport has been contacted for comment about the video.

Overnight into today, the UK had its coldest night of the winter so far – and its coldest temperature in seven years – as temperatures plunged to -14.4C (6.1F).

The freezing temperatures have led to weather warnings being issued by the Met Office across the country for snow, ice and fog today and into tomorrow.

At least someone’s enjoying the snow! Excited dog enjoying winter walkies is among latest snaps by MailOnline readers during Britain’s big freeze 

While the snow and ice has presented many hazards for motorists and brought travel chaos, some people have managed to take advantage of the conditions. 

And these photographs sent in by MailOnline readers show how dogs have loved having a chance to play in the white stuff – which has left cobwebs frosted over.

Others have sent in impressive pictures of snowy and icy landscapes across Britain, from Northern Ireland to Manchester, and Glasgow to Yorkshire.

It comes after the UK had its coldest night of the winter so far – and its coldest temperature in seven years – as temperatures plunged to -14.4C (6.1F).

The freezing temperatures have led to weather warnings being issued by the Met Office across the country for snow, ice and fog today and into tomorrow. 

* Taken any photos of snow in Britain today? Please email them to pictures@mailonline.co.uk with their location*  

Rail chaos for thousands as trains into four major stations are cancelled or delayed with London commuters stuck in carriages ‘with no heating’ despite freezing weather

By LARA KEAY FOR MAILONLINE 

London commuters faced a hellish journey to work this morning after trains to and from four of the capital’s major stations were delayed or cancelled. 

Passengers travelling on trains into London Liverpool Street, Cannon Street, Charing Cross and London Bridge complained of services running late and without heating on one of the coldest days in Britain for years.     

Thousands were already bracing themselves for problems after temperatures dropped as low as -11C overnight. 

Police in Surrey warned of potentially deadly conditions on the roads after a lorry and two cars crashed on the M25 near Cobham. 

The chaos started on the Liverpool Street line at 8pm yesterday, leaving some forced to cope with 12 hours of disruption – and difficult journeys to and from work.  

The disruption comes after overhead wires between Liverpool Street and Bethnal Green in east London were damaged overnight, creating major problems on Greater Anglia, London Overground, TfL Rail and Stansted Express trains. 

Problems on the Cannon Street line were the result of signalling failures at Hither Green and Lewisham, but were resolved by around 10am. 

Train bosses confirmed lines into Liverpool Street had re-opened just after 6.30am, but passengers should expect knock-on delays from last night throughout morning rush hour. 

A broken down train at Marks Tey station caused further line blockages and delays.   

People hoping to fly from Stansted and Southend Airports could struggle to make their flights as a result of the delays, with black ice on the roads as well.  

Liverpool Street commuters are being advised to use their tickets on London Underground, London Overground, Greater Anglia, London Buses and c2c to complete their journeys.

The motorway crash near Junction 9 of the M25 happened just before 6am, causing further chaos for drivers on their way into work.  

On the M25 crash, which is causing tailbacks for miles, Surrey Police tweeted: ‘Please be careful on roads this morning, the very cold night has left #ice & #blackice on untreated surfaces.’ 

Network Rail added engineers had completed repairs to the wires around Liverpool Street at around 4.30am and train operators were working to clear stranded trains from the lines. 

A Network Rail spokesman said: ‘We apologise for the disruption to services from London Liverpool Street yesterday evening. 

‘This was due to damaged overhead line equipment in Bethnal Green area.

‘Our teams worked throughout the night to get passengers moving again. 

‘All lines have now reopened, but we would advise passengers to check before they travel as there are some knock-on delays.’

A social media spokesman for Southeastern Railway said on Twitter: ‘A fault with the signalling system at Lewisham is causing disruption to trains to and from this station.

‘Services running through this station may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 08:00.

‘Trains between Orpington, Sevenoaks & London are unable to stop at Lewisham as the signalling problem affects the route used by these trains to run to and from Lewisham station.

‘Stopping services between Tunbridge Wells and Charing Cross or Cannon Street may also be altered to reduce congestion near Lewisham caused by extra train using the lines that avoid the station.’ 

Could you break your windscreen wipers in the snow? Drivers warned they face expensive repair bills if they make this common winter error…

By ROB HULL FOR THISISMONEY.CO.UK

With Britain being hit by an arctic blast this week, motorists are being told to take special precautions on the road in order to stay safe.

There are also warnings about damage you could be doing to your car with one innocuous mistake when it snows.

By making this relatively small error with your window wipers, many drivers could face pricey repair bills in the region of £400. 

Trico, which claims to have been producing vehicle window wipers for 102 years, says motorists are running the risk of expensive repair work if they use their wiper blades to remove a heavy layer of snow that has settled on the screen following a flurry.

Many are tempted to let the wipers clear the windscreen for them, rather than embracing the chilly conditions to shift the snow by hand using a scraper. 

Choose to neglect this advice and it can prove costly. 

Trico explained to This is Money that the weight of the snow and slush sitting on top of the blades and glass is heavy for the wipers to move.

When you activate the blades with the switch in the car, the additional strain on the motor and mechanism from the weight of the snow can cause one of a series of linkages in the wipers to break. 

As a result, sometimes the stud at the end of the wiper arm gets stripped, or there’s damage to the linkage pivot balls.

Owners of models fitted with automatic wipers, which activate when sensors identify rain or snow on the screen, have also been urged to leave their window wipers in the manual setting during this period of snowfall.

How costly could it be to use your wipers to clear snow? 

Wiper blades aren’t hugely expensive, in the grand scheme of things.

Halfords sells them for anything between £3 and £39. 

However, it could get costly if there is damage caused to the wiper transmission.

Car maintenance experts MotorEasy said this kind of repair costs, on average, £414 including parts, labour and VAT.

In some cases it can be up to £730, it said.

Senior product and brand manager at the wiper manufacturer, Sam Robinson, explained: ‘Of all the parts of a car which are subject to wear and tear, windscreen wipers are perhaps the most fragile. 

‘Manufactured from thin rubber, they are designed to operate smoothly on the windscreen without damaging the surface of glass, yet despite their fragility they are often required to work under the harshest weather conditions, particularly in the height of winter.’

He recommends that motorists always use scrapers to remove snow, and adds that wipers should also not be used to clear settled ice. 

‘Using your wipers to try and de-ice your windscreen can severely damage the wiper blade itself, and trying to remove snow that has settled on the windscreen can overload the entire arm and wiper motor, potentially causing the linkage to snap or the wiper motor to burn out.’

He added: ‘Severely worn or damaged blades can also damage a car windscreen which will, in turn, be costly to a motorist. 

‘Any damage, even slight, to the glass directly in the line of vision of the driver is likely to mean an MOT failure. 

‘Replacement glass costs considerably more than a pair of wiper blades.’

And he’s right. The average windscreen replacement costs between £150 and £200, depending on the vehicle. 

Plenty of motor insurance policies cover damage to glass, though making a claim is likely to cost you a no-claims discount and could push premiums higher.

Mr Robinson concluded: ‘Once you have effectively cleared snow and ice from the windscreen, your wipers can be used as normal whilst either raining or snowing and will help keep you seeing clearly whilst driving throughout winter.’

The rules about snow on your car 

The Highway Code Rule 229 states you must be able to see at all times while driving, so clear all snow and ice from all your windows, as well as what might fall off into the path or on other road users. 

However, motorists commonly neglect the rule, and run the risk of causing an accident due to a lack of visibility.

A tweet sent by Northern Polic`e on Tuesday showed one motorist’s car being driven on the A9 at Thurso, Caithness, in the Highlands in the early hours with a fraction of the windscreen cleared of snow:

The car’s rear and side windows were completely covered with snow while only a small area had been cleared on the front windscreen.

Police issued the driver with a fixed penalty notice and warned other motorists to clear snow and ice from their vehicles before setting off.

They posted pictures of the snowy car on social media and said: ‘Winter has been biting for most of us this week, which means it is more important than ever that your vehicle is suitably prepared for the roads.

Failure to comply with the Highway Code rule can result in £60 fine and 3 points on your licence if you’re caught with snow obstructing visibility out of any vehicle windows.