UK weather live: Major incident declared in second county over flooding as children stranded at primary school
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.Children have been left stranded at a primary school due to flooding in the surrounding areas, as Lincolnshire becomes the second county to declare a major incident.
Edenham Church of England school had been advised by the local fire brigade to stop parents from collecting their children, to prevent further vehicles from becoming stuck.
A major incident has also been declared in Leicestershire as the Met Office issued a number of fresh weather warnings across the UK.
Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) said it declared a major incident in response to widespread flooding across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland this morning, after receiving more than 200 calls. Crews have freed cars stuck in flood water, evacuated residents from flooded homes, and rescued 17 members of the public so far.
It came as the Met Office issued several new yellow warnings for snow and ice, which cover most of the country on the first Monday of the new year, with another for snow lasting into Wednesday.
Meanwhile, hundreds of flood warnings and alerts are in place across England and Wales amid heavy rain and thawing snow.
Consequent travel chaos has continued across the UK, with key roads flooded, trains cancelled and flights delayed.
Flooding is ‘personal priority’, says environment minister
Environment minister Emma Hardy told the Commons that “flooding is a personal priority” for her, after fresh weather warnings were issued across large parts of the UK on Monday.
In a statement, Ms Hardy said that as of Monday the Environment Agency’s areas of most concern are the Midlands, Warwickshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, with a major incident declared in Leicestershire.
She added: “The EA (Environment Agency) are continuing to respond in affected areas, including in the Midlands, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Birmingham, Nuneaton, Loughborough and the river Trent, Avon, and Idle.
“The Environment Agency are reporting at least 350 properties have flooded, and over 21,000 properties protected since New Year’s Eve. Over the next 24 to 36 hours, as water moves to the lower reaches and slower responding catchments, there will likely be some localised flooding across multiple smaller areas.
“Climate change will inevitably lead to more severe weather of the kind you have seen this weekend, but I want to reassure the House that flooding is a personal priority for me and one of our top five priorities in Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs).”
Starmer urges people in flooded areas to follow advice
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “Major incidents have been declared in Lincolnshire and Leicestershire due to severe flooding.
“My thoughts are with all those affected and my thanks to responders working hard to keep communities safe.
“Anyone in these areas should follow advice from the emergency services.”
All the places at risk of flooding as severe weather warnings are issued across UK
Hundreds of flood warnings and alerts are in place across the country as wintry conditions continue to cause travel disruption and school closures across the UK.
Yellow warnings for snow and ice come into force across large parts of the UK on Monday afternoon and will remain in place into Tuesday.
Many commuters suffered travel disruption on Monday morning, with major roads closed and railway lines blocked.
My colleague Jabed Ahmed takes a look at all the latest warnings:
All the places at risk of flooding as severe weather warnings are issued across UK
There are 173 flood warnings and 314 flood alerts in place across England
Trains calling at Gatwick but delays expected
Trains are now stopping at Gatwick after disruption was caused by a fire, on a day when public transport is already being affected by adverse weather.
West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said firefighters were called to a “small fire”, believed to have been caused by an electrical fault, at 12.34pm.
The station has now reopened, but travellers have been warned of delays which could reach up to 45 minutes.
Children stranded at primary school as Lincolnshire declares major incident
Children have been left stranded at a primary school due to flooding in the surrounding area, with Lincolnshire being the second county to declare a major incident.
The Lincolnshire Resilience Forum has said emergency services have “operational responses” in place for “a number of ongoing incidents” which include multiple road closures.
“Emergency services are also working to get children currently stranded at a school in Edenham home safely. They are safe and well, routes around affected,” the group said.
In a post on Facebook, Edenham Church of England Primary School said that the fire brigade had advised parents not to collect children, due to the risk of their vehicles becoming stuck.
In pictures: Flooded roads in Worcestershire
Simon Calder on a third weekend in a row of weather-triggered disruption to UK aviation
For a third weekend in a row, thousands of airline passengers woke up where they did not intend to be after large-scale flight cancellations. The Independent calculates that at least 150 flights to, from and within the UK were grounded on Sunday 5 January alone because of heavy snow and high winds.
With few alternative departures available, it is likely that 20,000 passengers were stranded – both in the UK and abroad – because their flights were cancelled or diverted.
The biggest problems were at Manchester airport, where the runway was closed because of snow for three hours on Sunday morning. The closure triggered 15 diversions – mainly of intercontinental flights – and 70 cancellations.
Some planes were diverted abroad, to Paris, Dublin and Shannon. The unluckiest passengers to be caught up in the snow chaos were the 243 on board Singapore Airlines flight SQ52, who endured not one but two diversions from Manchester to Gatwick.
Read the full article here:
Third consecutive weekend of flight chaos sees 20,000 passengers stranded
Exclusive: Heavy snow and high winds grounded at least 150 flights to, from and within the UK on Sunday alone
Pictured: Rainbow seen over flooded fields near River Tone in Somerset
What is the five-day weather forecast for the UK?
This Evening and Tonight:
A cold and frosty night to come, with some further wintry showers, particularly in western and northern areas. A risk of icy stretches on untreated surfaces, especially where any late wintry showers fall.
Tuesday:
Another cold day tomorrow, with a mix of sunshine and wintry showers. The showers heaviest and most frequent in the north. Windy for many, although easing in the south later.
Outlook for Wednesday to Friday:
Cold with a mixture of sunny spells and wintry showers, these most frequent in the north and northwest. A spell of rain and snow in the south possible on Wednesday.
Northern Powergrid says 27,000 across Yorkshire and North East England lost power during cold snap
More than 27,000 homes and businesses across Yorkshire and the North East of England lost power during the cold snap, network operators Northern Powergrid said.
The firm said its teams have worked around the clock to restore electricity supplies to all but around 100 customers by Monday lunchtime.
A spokesperson said: “Our network continued to be impacted by the wintry weather conditions overnight, leading to customers predominately across Yorkshire and Northumberland experiencing power cuts.
“We want to thank our customers for their patience.
“We understand how difficult a power cut can be, particularly in these conditions, and our teams will continue to work until all of our customers’ power is back on.”
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