UK weather live: Roads flooded and trains cancelled as flight disruption continues amid snow and ice warnings
Hundreds of flood warnings and alerts in place after most of country saw heavy snow or icy rainfall over weekend and consequent disruption
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Your support makes all the difference.Travel chaos is continuing on the first Monday of the new year as weather warnings for snow, ice and rain remain in force across much of the UK.
Hundreds of flood warnings and alerts have been issued as a result of heavy rain and thawing snow, leading to fears of further disruption as key roads have already flooded this morning.
Millions of commuters in the UK are facing difficult journeys as trains have also been cancelled.
Meanwhile, disruption continues at major UK airports, where flights have been delayed for a second day, with Manchester, the country’s third-busiest airport, closed for a second morning due to heavy snow, although it has now reopened.
Most of the UK saw heavy snow or icy rainfall over the weekend that caused travel chaos, with runways shut, rail services cancelled, and stranded vehicles and collisions also blocking key roads across northern England.
Today, again, almost all areas of the UK are facing a weather warning, as seven yellow alerts remain in place, with the Met Office warning of travel disruption.
The Environment Agency issued 173 flood warnings, meaning flooding is expected, and 304 flood alerts, meaning flooding is possible, across England as of 9am on Monday. At the same point, National Resources Wales had issued three flood warnings and 35 flood alerts.
Last night was UK’s coldest night of winter so far, according to Met Office
Last night was the UK’s coldest night of the winter so far, according to the Met Office.
The temperature plummeted to -13.3C in Loch Glascarnoch, Scotland.
However, the forecaster said southeast England was much milder, with temperatures remaining in double figures in places.
Thousands of journeys delayed as part of M25 closed after lorry crash
Thousands of journeys on the M25 in Surrey are being delayed as part of the motorway is closed following a crash that left a lorry overturned.
The M25 is shut in the anti-clockwise direction from junction 10 for the A3 to junction eight for Reigate after a lorry crashed into the central reservation and came to a rest sideways across the carriageway.
In pictures: Bradford residents wake up to another snowy morning
What weather warnings have been issued by the Met Office for today
- A yellow rain warning for southern England from Cornwall across to Kent will last until 9am on Monday.
- Meanwhile, a separate yellow rain warning covering much of the Midlands and parts of Greater Manchester and Yorkshire is in force until 10am.
- A yellow warning for snow and ice covering most of northern England and Wales is in place until midday on Monday.
- Then, a yellow ice warning covering large parts of Northern Ireland expires at 11am.
- The north and west of Scotland are covered by a yellow warning for snow and ice until 11am on Monday.
- Another for yellow warning for snow and ice in central and eastern parts of the country is in place until midday.
- A further yellow snow warning covering part of the Scottish Lowlands including Edinburgh is in place until midday.
Hundreds of flood warnings and alerts in place across England and Wales
The Environment Agency issued 173 flood warnings, meaning flooding is expected, and 304 flood alerts, meaning flooding is possible, across England as of 9am on Monday.
At the same point, National Resources Wales had issued three flood warnings and 35 flood alerts.
Delays at Manchester airport after runways closed
Arrivals and departures have resumed at Manchester after the UK’s third-busiest airport was closed for a second morning due to heavy snow.
Only one flight was diverted: Qatar Airways flight QR21 from Doha, which for a second day touched down at Birmingham airport. The Boeing 787 is expected to fly on to Manchester, with the outbound flight to Doha currently four hours behind schedule.
The first flight out of Manchester airport on Monday morning, on easyJet to Belfast City, took off at 7.35pm – an hour late. Most other departures in the “first wave” are around two hours behind schedule.
A spokesperson for easyJet said: “Airlines are currently experiencing some disruption at Manchester airport this morning due to the temporary closure of the runway following adverse weather conditions. As a result some flights have been delayed.
“The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority and we are doing all possible to mitigate impact of the weather disruption. We would advise all customers due to fly to and from the UK today to check the status of their flights via our Flight Tracker for the latest information.
“While this is outside our control, we are sorry to customers for the inconvenience caused as a result of the weather.”
Rail closures due to flooding
Flooding has forced the closure of all railway lines between Derby and both Nottingham and East Midlands Parkway.
This is affecting CrossCountry and East Midlands Railway services.
The operators are also disrupted by flooding closing all lines between Peterborough and Leicester.
Southeastern trains are unable to run from Ramsgate or Margate towards London via Canterbury West because of a fallen tree.
Flooding near Hooton, Cheshire, means Merseyrail’s Chester services are suspended while Ellesmere Port services will run as far as Hooton.
Flight cancellations on Monday morning
Four flights have already been cancalled so far today after a weekend of closures due to snow.
Data from aviation analytics firm Cirium have shown that a further three arrivals have been cancelled as of now and that the figure is likely to rise as the day progresses.
On Sunday 152 flights were cancelled departing UK airports and a further 136 arrivals were cancelled.
Major airports including Liverpool and Manchester were forced to shut their runways due to the snow over the weekend - with Manchester also temporarily closing theirs briefly this morning before reopening them.
Major roads closed due to flooding and snow
Millions travelling on Monday morning are facing delays to their journeys as major roads are closed due to flooding.
The M5 is closed southbound between J11a in Gloucester and J12 in Quedgeley due to extensive flooding.
The M50 is also closed eastbound between J4 Ross-on-Wye and J3 GorsleyCommon in the West Midlands following a collision and significant flooding in the carriageway.
Earlier this morning, the M1 J37 northbound exit slip road for Barnsley was closed due to snow, resulting in a number of stranded vehicles.
The A46 is also closed both ways between the M40 J15 and the A425 Warwick following a collision and flooding in the carrigeway.
Manchester Airport reopens runways
Manchester Airport has now reopened its runways, after they were temporarily closed due to heavy snowfall on Monday morning.
In an update at 7:15am, the airport said that passengers should expect delays due to the earlier closures and urged them to allow extra time for their journeys.
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