UK weather: Met Office issues severe snow warning as rush-hour chaos engulfs Britain
Travellers warned to check ahead after snow hits overnight
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Your support makes all the difference.Ice and snow has disrupted travel on Friday after the UK braced through the coldest night in seven years.
Southern England woke up to ongoing sleet and snow and the Scottish Highlands recorded a low overnight temperature of -15.4C.
More than 100 people were stranded overnight in the Jamaica Inn pub on Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, due to snow blanketing the A30.
The Met Office‘s amber warning for snow and ice – its second-highest level – was issued for London until 11am, with yellow warnings still in place across much of the rest of the UK.
Flights were cancelled at Heathrow and Bristol airports while Southeastern and Transport for Wales warned of timetable alterations. Northern Ireland and Scotland are expected to miss out on wintry showers that will persist into the evening for the rest of the country.
Follow how events unfolded throughout the day
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Thames Valley Police has provided a helpful checklist for drivers preparing to make their way home in the snow later today.
An update on some of the potentially hazardous conditions out there on the roads. A car with its side windows completely encased in snow was stopped by police in High Wycombe, who said the driver claimed he “could see perfectly well”.
In the north east, several vehicles became stuck on the A690 between Durham and Sunderland, with Northumbria Police asking others to avoid the area.
And in south Wales, a courier driver slipped into a snow-covered ditch just one mile short of a 270 mile journey, according to road police.
The assistant manager at the Jamaica Inn in Cornwall has been talking about how staff provided shelter to more than 100 motorists and their families stranded on the A30 on Thursday night.
Katie Smith said: “We had food going all night and the bar was all night and we had open fires light continuously. I can’t be prouder of the team.”
Traffic Scotland has warned drivers to take car on several major trunk roads this afternoon.
The Met Office’s latest forecast has warned of sub-zero temperatures overnight and further snow in northern and eastern Scotland on Saturday morning.
But meteorologist Aidan McGivern said Saturday was looking “dry and bright in many places”. On Sunday we could see snow on the hills of Scotland, Northern Ireland, northern England and north Wales.
More information on those yellow weather warnings issued by the Met Office for Saturday and Monday.
Severe snow and ice are expected across northern Scotland, eastern and southern England and western Wales on Saturday, while severe snow and ice could also affect the Monday morning commute in large parts of Scotland.
Looks like snow is causing all sorts of problems, even in motorway service station car parks. Disruption getting in and out of Membury services in Berkshire.
Britain isn’t the only country struggling with the wintry conditions today. Some photos from Italy, where several cars have overturned in the snow and freezing rain.
Police forces have been advising motorists to avoid unnecessary journeys today, and to take care if essential trips must be made.
John Apter, national chair of the Police Federation, has tweeted about a driver on the M27 who was given a ticket after being caught “weaving in and out of the traffic” in the snow.
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