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UK weather live: Snow warning for London as UK braces for temperatures to plummet to -20C

The warning for snow comes amid continued weather disruption at airports and schools across the UK

Simon Calder
Travel Correspondent
,Jabed Ahmed
Tuesday 07 January 2025 15:54 GMT
Comments
Snowfall on A3 in Surrey as weather causes flight delays and motorway chaos

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A weather warning for snow has been issued for London as the UK is set to see temperatures plunge to as low as -20C this week.

The Met Office has said up to two inches of snow could fall in the south of England on Wednesday, including the capital.

Weather warnings for snow and ice are also in place in Northern Ireland and western and northern Scotland until noon on Wednesday.

The cold snap is set to continue until the end of this week, with amber health alerts from the UK Health Security Agency in place across England until midday on Sunday.

The bad weather has continued to cause travel chaos on Tuesday, with Liverpool John Lennon Airport and Aberdeen Airport both closed in the morning due to the snow.

And there are still hundreds of flood alerts and warnings across the country thanks to rain and melting snow. As of Tuesday lunchtime, the Environment Agency had one danger-to-life flood warning, 133 flood warnings and 217 flood alerts in place across England.

National Highways said 3 stretches of A-roads across England are closed due to snow and flooding

The A1 in Lincolnshire is closed in both directions between the B6326 near Newark-on-Trent and the B1174 near Grantham because of “extensive flooding”.

The A628 Woodhead Pass in South Yorkshire/Derbyshire is shut in both directions between the A616 for Flouch and the A57 for Hollingworth because of snow.

The A34 in Berkshire is closed southbound from the A339 for Donnington and the A4 for Newbury to allow emergency barrier repairs. It is not known if this is weather-related.

Barney Davis7 January 2025 08:10

Rail disruption as flooding closes lines

Flooding means all rail lines are closed between Peterborough and Leicester, affecting CrossCountry and East Midlands Railway services.

Northern said a fault with the signalling system means no trains can run between Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester airport.

Great Western Railway said flooding has closed the line between Liskeard and Looe in Cornwall.

Flooding near Hooton in Cheshire has stopped Merseyrail services between Hooton and Chester.

Barney Davis7 January 2025 08:00

People living in a flooding hotspot are ‘waiting for the next inevitable incident’ - a local councillor

A major incident was declared in Lincolnshire and Leicestershire on Monday after rain brought severe flooding in the Midlands.

Murray Turner, a Liberal Democrat councillor at South Kesteven District Council in Lincolnshire, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme rescue operations had been going on “all day” on Monday.

The area faced bad flooding at the end of 2023 and Cllr Murray said Lincolnshire County Council had been expected to produce a section 19 report to explain the flooding and how agencies could work together to better deal with it in future.

“Now, despite much pressure from the local parish councillors and myself as district councillor throughout 2024, those section 19 reports have never been received,” Cllr Turner said.

“So what’s been happening is we’re waiting for the next inevitable flooding incident and it’s producing very bad scenes in the village.

“You’re walking through silty mud in your front room and you’ve got no power. It’s not very good at all.”

(Getty Images)
Barney Davis7 January 2025 07:41

Bristol Airport suspends all flights

Bristol Airport has suspended all flights for Tuesday morning as heavy rains, flooding and snow continue to disrupt travel and cause school closures.

A spokesman posted on X: “Passenger announcement, due to the ongoing weather conditions all flights have been currently suspended until 07:30, further announcements will be made once information is available.”

Barney Davis7 January 2025 07:34

Manchester airport runways reopen after snow disruptions cause flight delays and diversions

For the third time in as many days, Manchester Airport was forced to temporarily close both runways due to heavy snowfall. Earlier today, the airport announced the closures on X (formerly Twitter), stating that the extreme weather necessitated the shutdown. While the runways have since reopened, the disruption is expected to cause lingering delays.

Overnight, several flights destined for Manchester were diverted, with at least 16 planes rerouted between 10pm and 1am. Affected flights landed at alternative airports, including Liverpool, Birmingham, Edinburgh, East Midlands, Stansted, and Prestwick, as reported by real-time flight tracking service Flightradar24.

As of this morning, only one flight departing from Manchester has been canceled, though several others are experiencing delays.

Namita Singh7 January 2025 07:12

Around 200 flood warnings across England as environment minister issues reassurances

Across England, there are 203 flood warnings, meaning flooding is expected, and 300 flood alerts, meaning flooding is possible.

There is also a single severe flood warning, meaning danger to life, active in Leicestershire.

Commuters suffered travel misery on Monday, with major roads closed and railway lines blocked.

At a Lincolnshire primary school, parents were told to stay away until the end of the day, with fire brigade vehicles ready to carry children through the floodwaters.

A vehicles drives through standing flood water near Eckington in Worcestershire,
A vehicles drives through standing flood water near Eckington in Worcestershire, (David Davies/PA Wire)

Hundreds of schools were closed across the country, in areas including Lancashire, Yorkshire and north-east Scotland.

In the Commons, environment minister Emma Hardy told MPs flooding was “a personal priority” for her, adding that the Environment Agency was particularly concerned about Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire.

Warning of further “localised” flooding to come over the next 24 to 36 hours, she pledged to overhaul the government’s approach to funding flood defences “to ensure the challenges facing businesses and rural and coastal communities are taken into account when delivering flood protection”.

Namita Singh7 January 2025 07:11

What is the five day weather forecast?

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.

Holly Evans7 January 2025 07:00

About 40 flood warnings in Licolnshire alone

Lincolnshire Resilience Forum said 40 flood warnings and 29 flood alerts were in place across the county, with reports of 62 properties “internally flooded”. There are 203 flood warnings and one severe flood warning active across England as a whole.

“We are keeping a really close watch on this as it develops because we know that there might potentially be more flooding, particularly in areas which may be affected by tidal waters,” a statement from Lincolnshire Resilience Forum said.

Eckington Bridge in Worcestershire is surrounded by flood water after the River Avon burst its banks
Eckington Bridge in Worcestershire is surrounded by flood water after the River Avon burst its banks (PA Wire)

It also said emergency services were on standby at Greatford, near Stamford, to monitor the West Glen River, which it said threatened to inundate 49 properties in the area.

The Environment Agency has issued the only severe flood warning, meaning danger to life, for the River Soar covering caravan parks near Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire.

Namita Singh7 January 2025 06:43

Weather warnings in force as flooding risk persists

Weather warnings for snow and ice are in force across much of the UK after severe flooding and snow caused travel disruption and school closures.

A yellow snow and ice warning is in place across most of south-west England and Wales, coastal parts of North Wales and Merseyside and parts of north-west England and the West Midlands, until 10am.

A train in snowy conditions at the Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes, North Yorkshire
A train in snowy conditions at the Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes, North Yorkshire (PA Wire)

The same warning is in place for western and northern parts of Scotland until midday, and in Northern Ireland until 11am.

A critical incident has been declared by East Midlands Ambulance for the first time ever, with flooding partly responsible for the “level of escalation”.

A major incident was declared by authorities in Lincolnshire on Monday night, with a warning that more flooding could occur on Tuesday.

Namita Singh7 January 2025 06:03

My elderly mother can’t afford heating – she needs the winter fuel allowance

After a damp and drizzly start to the year, the weather in the UK has taken a dramatic turn and we’ve firmly entered the first real cold snap of 2025 – which not only prompts concern for our own health and safety but also the wellbeing of our more vulnerable loved ones.

Even the most independent pensioners are finding the current conditions challenging.

My 73-year-old mother is no stranger to tough times; she found herself widowed after losing my dad to a gruelling battle with cancer and suffers from debilitating rheumatoid arthritis herself. She’s a powerhouse of strength and is fiercely stubborn, so it came as a shock when she recently told me how worried she was about heating her home this winter and her health fears during this severe cold snap.

Read the full article here from Becky Bowden:

My elderly mother can’t afford heating – she needs the winter fuel allowance

In its bid to plug the £22bn ‘black hole’ in public finances, the Labour government has let down vulnerable, elderly people like my mother, writes Becky Bowden

Holly Evans7 January 2025 06:00

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