Thanks for reading today and for all your comments. Good luck on your journey home. Here is a summary of the day’s events:
- Snow and ice continues to cause widespread disruption across the UK. Dozens of rail services have been affected, including a temporary suspension on the Gatwick Express, delays on the Eurostar to and from London, and at least 20 cancellations on rail services in Scotland.
- Almost 3,000 schools have been forced to closed including more than 500 in the east of England, more than 200 each in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, and around 400 in Birmingham. Some parents have complained that schools were shut in areas where there was little or no snow.
- Thousands of people were left without power overnight. Western Power Distribution said engineers worked through the night to restore power to 99,500 homes in the Midlands, south Wales and the south-west, but that 7,000 customers were still without electricity, 6,500 of them in the West Midlands. Around 800 homes were also without power in Oxfordshire and Wiltshire.
- Up to 200 flights from Heathrow are expected to cancelled as passengers complained of waiting hours for travel to be rescheduled. Flights at other airports were also affected.
- The Met Office has extended its yellow weather warnings for snow and ice to cover vast swaths of the country, including London and the south-east, much of the Midlands, Northern Ireland and Wales, as well as the eastern coast of England and northern and western Scotland.
- Sunday was the coldest day for seven years with temperatures dipping to -12C in some places. Monday night could be even colder with temperatures forecast to fall as low as -15C.
Updated
Environment Agency staff have been helping vulnerable people in snow-logged areas get to medical appointments by using their 4x4s.
On the agency’s blog, it says:
We’ve been volunteering our staff and 4x4 vehicles to help people who might otherwise be stranded get the medical help they need, despite the snow. Directed by the NHS, our volunteers have been helping ferry people to medical centres so they don’t have to miss appointments, and have been helping doctors and health visitors get to patients in rural locations.
Our 4x4s are usually used for site visits, sampling, or the work of our fisheries teams – work that’s on hold while the snow poses a risk, meaning we can make the best use of our vehicles in these conditions by helping the community, whether by ferrying patients or delivering food or road salt to rural locations.
Updated
Airports continue to advise passengers to check for disruption to their flight before travelling.
UPDATE | Disruption continues following yesterday's adverse weather. Please do not travel to the airport if your flight has been cancelled, and contact your airline directly. https://t.co/hs9FmTfDnm pic.twitter.com/BEA4Qw6lFW
— Heathrow Airport (@HeathrowAirport) December 11, 2017
— Stansted Airport (@STN_Airport) December 11, 2017
In the north-east three schools have been closed in Northumberland and another three in County Durham.
Updated
At least 586 schools have been closed in the south-east owing to the weather.
Here is a breakdown within the region:
Buckinghamshire: 271
Berkshire: at least 5 in west Berkshire, but no clear info about the rest of the county
East Sussex: 23
Hampshire: 2
Isle of Wight: 0
Kent: 0
Oxfordshire: 269
Surrey: 13
West Sussex: 3
Updated
Luton airport says it is open for business and its runway is in use but the weather is still affecting some flights.
Airport open and runway open and operating, however, some flights are affected by delays and/or cancellations. We will update if this message changes.
— London Luton Airport (@LDNLutonAirport) December 11, 2017
Commuters in London worrying about getting home may find that it is not the bad weather hampering their journey.
**UPDATE** Due to a lineside fire at London Waterloo some lines are blocked. Train services running across the whole South Western Railway network may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until the end of the day. https://t.co/gWxn1cw1lb
— SWR Help (@SW_Help) December 11, 2017
What we know so far
- Snow and ice continues to cause widespread disruption across the UK. Dozens of rail services have been hit, including a temporary suspension on the Gatwick Express, delays on the Eurostar to and from London, and at least 20 cancellations on rail services in Scotland.
- Almost 3,000 schools have been forced to closed including more than 500 in the east of England, more than 200 each in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, and around 400 in Birmingham. Some parents have complained that schools were shut in areas where there was little or no snow.
- Thousands of people were left without power overnight. Western Power Distribution said engineers worked through the night to restore power to 99,500 homes in the Midlands, south Wales and the south-west, but that 7,000 customers were still without electricity, 6,500 of them in the West Midlands. Around 800 homes were also without power in Oxfordshire and Wiltshire.
- Up to 200 flights from Heathrow are expected to cancelled as passengers complained of waiting hours for travel to be rescheduled.
- The Met Office has extended its yellow weather warnings for snow and ice to cover vast swaths of the country, including London and the south-east, much of the Midlands, Northern Ireland and Wales, as well as the eastern coast of England and northern and western Scotland.
- Sunday was the coldest day for seven years with temperatures dipping to -12C in some places. Monday night could be even colder with temperatures forecast to fall as low as -15C.
Updated
The TUC called on employers not to force staff to make hazardous journeys into work, saying firms in areas of the country affected by the snowy conditions should have put out advice to their staff on what they should do when snow, ice and a lack of public transport prevents them getting to work.
Policies should also cover what parents should do if schools close and they have no alternative childcare, said the TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady, adding: “It is essential that employers don’t force staff to make dangerous journeys for the sake of presenteeism.
“For many employees the bad weather will have made their commute virtually impossible, but thankfully many bosses now have ‘bad weather’ policies so staff know what is expected of them.”
The TUC also reminded employers to keep their workplaces safe and warm – at least 16°C.
Updated
More 1,300 schools have been forced to close in the West Midlands, writes Will Tilbrook. They include:
- 200 in Worcestershire
- 94 in Herefordshire:
- 157 in Shropshire
- 309 in Staffordshire
- 215 in Warwickshire
- Around 400 schools in Birmingham including all 270 of the council-run schools and the majority of the remaining 175 run by academies.
At least 131 schools in Wales were also shut including 71 in Flintshire, 11 in Wrexham and 49 in Denbighshire. And another 60 were closed in the London borough of Barnet.
By our incomplete tally at least 2,700 schools were closed today.
Updated
Some parents have been grumbling about schools closing in areas where there has been little or no snow.
Child B school closed. I have had to come home. There is no snow here just sleet. Nanny state!
— Queen Cooky (@cookyh) December 11, 2017
Parents will be! The decision by schools to close because of “snow” when businesses and other public services are operating OK (no choice, really) is not acceptable. Parents must be urged to complain to governing bodies. (I’m a former school governor, btw!) https://t.co/oGfIE7ikQF
— Colin Barrett (@colinrbarrett) December 11, 2017
What a joke. There is no snow outside but because there is snow forecast my daughter's school has closed without even bothering to open. #GreatSchool
— neil (@neilcaterham) December 11, 2017
So. Olivers school was declared closed today, at 7pm last night when the bus company they use refused to operate...
— Meesh (@Meesh_lcfc74) December 11, 2017
Not saying the country's going soft or owt but...
Dozens of flights have been cancelled at Heathrow, the UK’s busiest airport, PA reports.
Heathrow said it was operating three-quarters of its full schedule as airlines dealt with the knock-on effects of Sunday’s heavy snowfall, which turned to ice overnight as temperatures plummeted.
Passengers shared images on social media of long queues and scores of suitcases lined up , while others complained of a lack of information from the airport and airlines.
Among them was Beth Kanter, a non-profit and charities consultant from San Francisco, who said the British Airways flight she boarded was cancelled on Sunday after six hours on the tarmac.
Flight still not yet cancelled. Keeping fingers crossed. Bags still missing @British_Airways #heathrownightmare morning after pic.twitter.com/Mr34FdYzjO
— Beth Kanter (@kanter) December 11, 2017
She said she was told on the aircraft that the weather was “an act of god” and that the airline could not pay for a hotel as a result.
She said: “[They were] saying they were waiting for de-ice. Then, they cancelled our flight. Then it took me four hours to get through the immigration line. On the plane, the pilot said we would be able to collect our baggage in baggage reclaim. That was the ‘good news’.
“Then, after standing in line and finally making it through immigration, the baggage area was total chaos. There was baggage on the baggage claims but none of the signs indicated what the flights were.
“There was a huge long line – it must have several hundred people in it – stretching from baggage claim number three to the last one where customer service was. There was one person there.
“Then I noticed a man with a BA sweatshirt come out of a back office with a paper with the list of flights and baggage claim numbers – this was after being in baggage claim for hours, trying to figure out what the hell to do.”
The consultant, whose luggage “filled with holiday gifts” was lost in the chaos, said she asked for information on her flight which was “not on his list”, but eventually received a rebooking for Monday.
“They announced that everyone should go home and come back tomorrow to deal with their bags … people were really pissed off and it was stressful,” she added.
The 60-year-old said she filed a report on the BA website, and managed to book a hotel 30 minutes from the airport as she “did not want to spend the night” at Heathrow.
She added that no one at the airline was answering the phones and described their website as useless and said customer service on was lame.
Fellow American Kenton Keithly, 65, had expected to fly from Newcastle to Heathrow and then to San Francisco on Monday but the connecting flight to the London airport was cancelled on Sunday night. He had to rebook to fly on Tuesday with his partner.
Keithly, of Woodland, California, said both the airport and airline had not learned from similar circumstances in 2010, when he had to spend a night on the floor of departures at Terminal Five.
He said: “I love flying BA, they are incredible in the air but lousy on the ground. Speaking with other passengers in the line last night, we all agreed that BA has learned nothing from seven years ago and Heathrow have failed to address the issue of having enough de-icers to cope with demand when needed.”
A Heathrow spokeswoman said: “Some flights at Heathrow are disrupted today.
However, the airport remains open and is operating three-quarters of scheduled flights.
“Before coming to the airport, passengers must check their flight status with their airline. If the status of your flight is cancelled, please do not travel to the airport, keep updated via the airline’s website. We apologise to those whose travel has been impacted and regret the inconveniences that have been caused.”
Updated
The NHS has urged the public to check in on older neighbours amid the coldest snap for seven years.
Older people may be more isolated than normal due to the cold weather. Check in on an older neighbor to make sure they're ok: https://t.co/4RpvABDpmR #BlackIceMonday pic.twitter.com/fgZyVz6rkM
— NHS Choices (@NHSChoices) December 11, 2017
A further 421 schools in the east Midlands were shut, Will Tilbrook reports.
Updated
Almost 300 schools in the South West region of England have been force closed, writes Will Tilbrook.
They include 261 in Gloucestershire and 38 in Wiltshire, but none in Bristol, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall.
Western Power distribution has confirmed that around 7,000 homes in the West Midlands are still without power.
We've restored around 100,000 customers' electricity supplies in the last 24 hours as a result of #StormCaroline. We currently have around 7,000 customers off supply, mostly in the West Midlands. Full update here: https://t.co/f9CpNTWHeF Photo thanks to @DinahLiversidge pic.twitter.com/xsPrxVLGw6
— WPD (@wpduk) December 11, 2017
A further 800 homes in Oxfordshire and Wiltshire had a night without power, according to Scottish and Southern.
What we know so far
- Snow and ice continues to cause widespread disruption across the UK. Dozens of rail services have been hit, including a temporary suspension on the Gatwick Express, delays on the Eurostar from London and the rest of Europe, and at least 20 cancellations on rail services in Scotland.
- Hundreds of schools have been forced to closed including more than 500 in the East of England, and more than 200 each in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire.
- Thousands of people were left without power overnight. Western Power Distribution said engineers worked through the night to restore power to 99,500 homes in the Midlands, South Wales and South West but 7,000 customers were still without electricity, 6,500 of them in the West Midlands.
- Up to 200 flights from Heathrow are expected to cancelled as passengers complained of waiting hours for travel to be rescheduled.
- The Met Office has extended its yellow weather warnings for snow and ice to cover vast swathes of the country, including London and the South East, much of the Midlands, Northern Ireland and Wales, as well as the eastern coast of England and northern and western Scotland.
- Sunday was the coldest day for seven years with temperatures dipping to -12C in some places and a forecast for worst to come. Monday night could see temperatures drop as low as -15C.
If you have to drive in the snow and ice, here’s a guide to staying safe:
Stay safe and plan ahead
• Charge your mobile phone, fill a hot flask and make sure everyone is dressed for the weather - you may have to get out and walk.
• Clear snow from the roof – it can fall on to the windscreen and block your view. Don't forget the lights.
• To car thieves, frosty mornings are a Christmas gift. Don't leave the car unattended with the engine running.
• Never use boiling water to clear the windscreen – it could crack the glass.
• Pull away in second gear, easing your foot off the clutch gently to avoid wheel-spin.
• Anticipation and smoothness are key. Apply brakes gently. Drive slowly – stopping distances are 10 times longer.
• Stick to main roads, as they are more likely to have been gritted
• Watch out for black ice. The road surface can look wet when it is actually frozen.
• After the snow: salt used to de-ice roads can cause corrosion to your car over time. Wash it off.
Source: AA, RAC and Green Flag
Updated
The daytime temperature yesterday was the coldest in seven years, the BBC says.
Yesterday was the coldest day we've had since December 2010. Braemar saw a max day temp of -6.2C. Brrrrrr! Jo pic.twitter.com/hwXDpj7Ce5
— BBC Weather (@bbcweather) December 11, 2017
Updated
This, posted overnight by an Essex police officer, is an example of how not to drive in these conditions:
My officers just came across this while on patrol in Harlow, driver reported for Careless driving! pic.twitter.com/AhC6sVu5JT
— Matt Allsop (@InspMattAllsop) December 11, 2017
Eurostar has warned passengers of delays in both directions caused by the snow.
In a statement posted on its website, it said:
Our apologies to passengers travelling today from the continent to London St Pancras and vice versa.
Due to the predicted adverse weather conditions in the UK and the rest of Europe, speed restrictions are put in place. This means that your journey could be affected and that the arrival time of your train might be delayed.
You have been sharing your stories about snow and ice with us here.
Rob in Munich is looking on the bright side: “The weather has left my wife stranded with me in Germany. It’s been quite romantic.”
A rare good news story. I am an academic in London but I have been in Munich, Germany, for this term on sabbatical doing research for a book. I have been here since the middle of October and not got to see much of my wife as a result. She has been at home in London.
She came here on Friday night for the weekend and was meant to go back today but her flight was cancelled early this morning. We are lucky because I have a flat here for the next couple of weeks so it did not cause any accommodation problems and it’s just meant we get to spend more time together.
Today, we are both working but in the evening we will go out to the Christmas markets. The earliest she was allowed to re-book her flight for was 6pm on tomorrow. The airline did not give much other information, just the usual apologies. It’s been nice to spend time together and quite romantic . The snow here has been lovely and not caused much chaos as elsewhere. It just looks really Christmassy.
I know it’s a cliche, but it’s true: there has been snow and ice here in Munich for the last couple of weeks to very little effect, whereas a few hours of cold in England seems to have brought the infrastructure to its knees.
Vicky and Will Duckworth, in Dudley, are not so happy:
We’ve been living in our motorhome with our dog Poppy for the last 17 months, for a five-year tour of Europe. We are back in the UK to visit people but after a family Christmas meal, we have found ourselves snowed in on the car park we staying on overnight.
We’ve cancelled a visit to our sister in Orpington and a doctor’s appointment because we didn’t want to risk travelling. We’ve managed to keep warm so far, but are concerned about running out of the gas we use for heating.
Updated
Here’s a map showing the latest Met Office warnings for snow and ice.
Dozens of rail services in England have been hit by snow, ice and a landslip. The latest problems include:
- No trains between Stourbridge Junction and Stourbridge Town.
- No trains between Great Malvern and Hereford.
- A reduced service between Birmingham New Street and Redditch with delays of up to 20 minutes.
- Gatwick Express services between London Victoria and Gatwick airport temporarily suspended.
- A landslip means services between Preston and Ormskirk are currently unable to run.
Updated
More than 500 schools have been forced to close in the east of England, writes Will Tilbrook.
- In Hertfordshire more than 300 schools were closed, according to the council’s website.
- ITV News reported that 166 schools were planning to close in Bedfordshire.
- 51 schools were shut in Essex.
-
10 were closed in Cambridgeshire.
- Only one school was closed in Suffolk and all the schools in Norfolk remained open.
Updated
Farage the emu caught in the snow
A pet emu called Farage has been recaptured in Tollesbury, near Maldon, after running loose in the snow.
Only in tollesbury would you see an emu escaping in the snow pic.twitter.com/hr7aSO2kVN
— jazzy (@jazz_emson) December 10, 2017
The East Anglian Daily Times has more on the best snow story of the day so far.
Jasmine Emson and Harriet Balcombe managed to take photographs capturing the drama as it unfolded.
“It was just madness,” said Miss Emson.
“The emu is well known in Tollesbury, it’s called Farage and lives next to the church.
“We were all preparing to go out in the snow and suddenly I saw it run past me, we were all a bit shocked it had got out.
“Everyone knows the emu but it was fine, just running loose.
“I heard that a man managed to track it down in the graveyard and bring it back.”
Ms Balcombe reassured her Twitter followers that Farage was safely herded home.
She tweeted: “Tollesbury’s resident emu (yes, emu) got out this morning and has now been safely herded home.”
Tollesbury’s resident emu (yes, emu) got out this morning and has now been safely herded home. #Essex #snow pic.twitter.com/x1CsRiIDrY
— Harriet Balcombe (@harrietewstack) December 10, 2017
Updated
Drone footage over Ipswich from Sky Cam East looks likes a scene from The Snowman.
#Ipswich in the #snow
— Sky Cam East (@skycameast) December 10, 2017
Almost looks Christmassy.#UAV #drone @BBCSuffolk @BBCLookEast @itvanglia @SkyNews @EADT24 pic.twitter.com/yZ4QYlDTJI
Updated
Weather warning extended
A Met Office yellow severe weather warning for snow and ice has been extended to much of the east coast of England, as well as Scotland and the south-east, until at least 4pm today. An ice warning for central England and Wales remains in place.
An assessment from the chief forecaster said:
With cold conditions and some snow lying over parts of England, as well as further rain pushing in from the south-east during the second half of the night, icy stretches have formed on untreated surfaces. At the same time some snow will fall over parts of south-east England this morning and early afternoon as well as over parts of East Anglia in the afternoon. However, most accumulations here should be above about 100m. This is only a low impact warning with impacts much less widespread and less significant than across parts of England and Wales on Sunday.
Yellow weather warnings for #snow & #ice have been issued: https://t.co/QwDLMfRBfs Stay #weatheraware @metofficeuk pic.twitter.com/wdeaApXfXZ
— Met Office (@metoffice) December 11, 2017
Updated
The coldest temperature recorded in the UK in the last 24 hours was -12.4C in Dalwhinnie in central Scotland.
Chillingham Barns in Northumberland wasn’t far behind at -12.2C.
It was another very cold night across much of the UK, with minus 12.2 °C recorded at Chillingham Barns in #Northumberland ❄️ pic.twitter.com/NkqS6HvgNH
— Met Office (@metoffice) December 11, 2017
A number of flights at Heathrow have been cancelled “due to crew and aircraft being out of position following yesterday’s weather”.
UPDATE | Disruption continues following yesterday’s weather. If your flight is cancelled, please do not travel to the airport. https://t.co/zOqJyQR48T pic.twitter.com/ZczcxvAQ4I
— Heathrow Airport (@HeathrowAirport) December 11, 2017
Peter Grant, the SNP MP for Glenrothes, criticised British Airways for cancelling flights “because it was cold”.
Just to be clear, there was hardly any snow at Heathrow yesterday. BA cancelled about 300 flights because it was cold. https://t.co/opIdGEDuRe
— Peter Grant MP (@PeterGrantMP) December 11, 2017
He points out it wasn’t the only airport to be hit by the weather, but British Airways appears to be reporting the most disruption.
Wondering if there’s more to this than BA have said. This morning’s reports suggested it was only BA flights in & out of Heathrow that were badly affected. Heathrow wasn’t the only cold place.
— Peter Grant MP (@PeterGrantMP) December 11, 2017
Updated
Worcestershire is one of the areas worst hit, writes Will Tilbrook. There are some 200 schools closed across the county.
Don't forget, a significant number of schools across Worcestershire are closed today. Find the latest here: https://t.co/NbwPSjh534 pic.twitter.com/z0IDcymvck
— Worcestershire (@worcscc) December 11, 2017
Don't forget, a significant number of schools across Worcestershire are closed today. Find the latest here: https://t.co/NbwPSjh534 pic.twitter.com/z0IDcymvck
— Worcestershire (@worcscc) December 11, 2017
Heart of Worcestershire College is also closed.
REMINDER: All Heart of Worcestershire College sites will be closed on Monday 11th December due to adverse weather conditions. We will continue to assess the situation and will provide updates via our website and social media channels.
— HOW College (@HOW_College) December 11, 2017
Have a safe snow day!! pic.twitter.com/ZIHXkvBX1E
But the University of Worcester is open.
The University is open today but please be careful travelling. Follow @WorcsTravel for road news. @worcester_uni @WorcesterSU #uksnow https://t.co/QCUHIv6xJe
— InstituteSport@UoW (@UniWorcISES) December 11, 2017
Powis and Chirk castles in Wales are among a number of National Trust Wales attractions that have been forced to close because of the weather.
⛄️Snow update: Some of our special places are closed today (Monday 11 December) due to heavy snow and ice. Please check the website before travelling. Stay safe. #uksnow ❄️ 🌨 pic.twitter.com/9Sgx8ZuLlD
— National Trust Wales (@NTWales) December 11, 2017
Updated
Motorists are being warned of havoc on the roads as snow turns to ice after the weekend’s wintry blast.
Pete Williams, the RAC’s road safety spokesman, said the motorists’ service was expecting 11,000 breakdowns on Monday, 20% above the seasonal norm. “I think the big thing is people are not going to leave enough time,” he said. “Journeys will take two to three times longer. It’s going to be treacherous driving conditions.”
But so far fears of a “Black Ice Monday” appear overblown.
Black ice Monday MAPPED: More snow to fall HERE today as Britain FREEZES OVER https://t.co/e2ddFiHt6Z pic.twitter.com/VerddPS8TN
— Daily Star (@Daily_Star) December 11, 2017
There have been some pretty impressive snow sculptures in the last 24 hours.
What a snow sculpture!!!
— Gerard (PG) Mulhern (@puntersg) December 10, 2017
This @West_Belfast guy has serious talent🎄🎄🎄@newbelfast pic.twitter.com/jkCOxPx65g
So considering snow in Hatfield UK is an unusual occurrence, how does our snow sculpture rate? #snow #santa (#fatherchristmas) and his #dog #snowysunday pic.twitter.com/hv0NDH1adA
— Matthew Blakemore (@TweetBlakemore) December 10, 2017
Last snow sculpture of the day. The great fire eyed snow cat of Oxfordshire! pic.twitter.com/KPa0QlUidd
— Mark Griffin (@MarkGriffin1970) December 10, 2017
Please send pictures of your favourite snow sculptures to GuardianWitness.
Updated
Hundreds of schools are closed today. The government has set up a postcode finder to check if your child’s school is among them.
Updated
The snow arrived at a crucial time in the undergraduate interview season at Oxford University, with the city and surrounding region hit hard.
Oxford is advising candidates to contact the relevant colleges if they are having trouble travelling to the city.
We are thinking of all the students making their way to @uniofoxford for their #OxInterview this week. Take care in the snow, and contact your college in case of any delays: https://t.co/neiiYK8Xxt pic.twitter.com/RbR3GaFwHH
— Oxford University (@UniofOxford) December 10, 2017
Around 200 schools in Oxfordshire have closed today because of snow, and Oxford Brookes University has closed its campus.
Due to the heavy snow across our campuses today (10 December), the University has taken the decision to close all buildings across each of its campuses today and will remain closed on Monday 11 December. Staff/students should check Brookes email for more info. #SnowDay ❄ 1 / 2 pic.twitter.com/ZV9uEW3VKm
— Oxford Brookes (@oxford_brookes) December 10, 2017
Updated
How is the snow and ice affecting you this morning? We want to hear about the impact on the roads and transport system, as well as children who are unable to go into school. Share your stories, views, and photos with us. Please think about your safety and security first when recording and sharing your content.
Updated
Almost 3,000 customers of Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks spent a night without electricity, but the company has restored power to 48,000 households. It said the worst-hit areas were Oxfordshire, where 800 homes are without power, Wiltshire and parts of Berkshire.
It said heavy snow and winds of up to 70mph caused damage to the network’s overhead power lines.
Craig Gilroy, director of customer operations for SSEN, said: “With the worst of the weather now behind us, our engineers have made good progress restoring power to homes affected by today’s weather event. Unfortunately, with heavy snow and travel issues still restricting access to fault locations, we expect around 800 customers in Oxfordshire to remain without power overnight.
“We have now contacted each of these customers to provide an update and offer welfare facilities. I’d like to thank customers for their patience and assure them we will be working hard from first light to get access to faults and carry out the final repairs.
** YELLOW ALERT UPDATE **
— ssencommunity (@ssencommunity) December 11, 2017
We've restored power to over 48,000 homes following heavy snow and up to 70mph winds across our southern region. We aim to restore the remaining 2,900 customers by the morning. https://t.co/QNb4zf0fXT pic.twitter.com/oEG7vwfVKv
Updated
A Met Office yellow severe weather warning for ice will remain in place for large parts of the UK until around 11am.
A yellow warning means that you should “plan ahead thinking about possible travel delays, or the disruption of your day to day activities”.
The forecast is for an icy start with rain in the south-east. Most of the rest of the UK will be cold but sunny.
Good morning! An icy start for some this morning ❄️ Rain, sleet and snow will affect the southeast today, with a mixture of sunshine and showers elsewhere 🌦️ pic.twitter.com/WHljyWC7mn
— Met Office (@metoffice) December 11, 2017
There are currently 20 rail services cancelled in Scotland, according to ScotRail’s journey checker. The latest problems include a points failure at Newton, which will hit services until at least 8.30am, and a broken-down train in Glasgow which is blocking the route to Paisley.
UPDATE: #GlasgowCentral. Due to this broken down train, we’re not able to run trains between Glasgow & Paisley just now. Engineers on way to failed train. ^CT
— ScotRail (@ScotRail) December 11, 2017
NEW: We’re dealing with a points failure at #Newton. Staff are on site working to repair now. Services through the station will be disruption until at least 08:30. We’re sorry about this. ^CT pic.twitter.com/xT745P0Eci
— ScotRail (@ScotRail) December 11, 2017
Updated
Motorway network clear
Highways England has declared the main road and motorway network clear.
Frank Bird, an emergency planning officer, said: “For our network there aren’t any problems. All of our motorways are back to tarmac. Some of the three lane motorways are still only two lanes, but we are working to try and clear that throughout the day. For the large part we would say once you can get to the motorways it’s safe motoring.”
He told BBC Breakfast that staff were working 14-hour shifts over the weekend to keep the roads open.
He said: “We’ve had round the clock gritting. We had 56 gritters out on the motorway network in the West Midlands alone. For a short period we borrowed some from the north-west, which is why we’ve managed to keep the motorway network going all through yesterday.”
Bird claimed the worst problem on Sunday was lorries blocking the M40 which led to 55-minute delays.
But he added: “As long as you took it nice and steady people got where they were going to. We’ve not seen snow like this for seven years so it is challenging for all of us.”
Updated
Meanwhile in America...
WALK OF TOUCHDOWN!!!!
— 🏈🚢🎶TITANIC TD🏈🚢🎶 (@TitanicTD) December 10, 2017
LESEAN MCCOY'S WALK OFF OVERTIME 21 YARD TOUCHDOWN IN THE SNOW IS EVEN BETTER WITH TITANIC MUSIC!!! WHAT A SCENE IN BUFFALO!!! @BUFFALOBILLS BEAT THE COLTS!!!!
🏈🚢🎶 pic.twitter.com/HPSb5Imai8
The RAC wants motorists to take it slow today.
Pete Williams, the group’s road safety spokesman, has told the Press Association that they are expecting 11,000 breakdowns today, 20% more than the seasonal norm.
“I think the big thing is people are not going to leave enough time,” he said. “Journeys will take two to three times longer. It’s going to be treacherous driving conditions.”
He said low overnight temperatures could cause black ice and he urged people to drive slowly, leaving plenty of space between them and the vehicle in front.
Updated
It seems even famous footballers aren’t immune to the effects of snow.
Not ideal at 5:30am when you’ve got a train to catch! Thought I was clever sheltering my car from the snow! 😂🙈 pic.twitter.com/9Oqz8UxiPR
— michael owen (@themichaelowen) December 11, 2017
More than 50 schools across Oxfordshire have announced that they are closed today because of snow, including the major state secondaries Cherwell, Matthew Arnold and Cheney schools in Oxford city.
Updated
Looks like Birmingham got another rather heavy dusting last night ...
They said this snow would stop in Birmingham at around 8. It's not stopped. It's still snowing. In some parts of my garden it's over 30cm deep. pic.twitter.com/WLjpjcuRs5
— Adam Sparkes (@Adam_Sparkes) December 11, 2017
Glad I'm not going out in that this morning ❄❄❄ was still snowing after 1 am here #snow #Birmingham take care all those travelling to work pic.twitter.com/9yWU85c3AD
— Tracey (@tracey_bourne) December 11, 2017
There are train problems and warnings for cyclists in the West Midlands.
We are currently unable to operate a service between Stourbridge Junction and Stourbridge Town due to a foot of snow covering the line. We're sorry if this affects you today. All other services through Stourbridge Junction are currently operating normally.
— West Midlands Railway (@WestMidRailway) December 11, 2017
Today's roads are very icy, cyclists may want to consider alternative modes if possible. Winter cycling information from @BritishCycling available here: https://t.co/Mb7N9lTC0p
— NetworkWM (@networkwm) December 11, 2017
More detail on school closures across the country:
More than 100 schools are closed in Shropshire. In Wales, 71 schools are closed in Flintshire, 11 in Wrexham and 49 in Denbighshire.
#UKSnow - Trains between Newport and Hereford are currently unable to run between these stations because of tress on the line. Customers can use CrossCountry and Great Western Railway services. https://t.co/gp7AMZ66dg
— National Rail (@nationalrailenq) December 11, 2017
On the roads, lane three on the M42 in the West Midlands, between junctions 1 and 3, and lane three on the M5 between junction 4a and junction 3, are impassable, with only lanes one and two running on both motorways.
The slip road to Stansted airport on the M11 eastbound was closed overnight for carriageway treatment due to freezing temperatures, according to Highways England.
More flight cancellations
The Press Association is reporting that seven flights have been cancelled at Edinburgh airport, while Manchester airport has 13 departures listed as cancelled.
Still looking pretty white in North London.
well we are doing ok so far here at Barnet... pic.twitter.com/OiXGWy13aD
— ladytubedriver (@ladytubedriver) December 11, 2017
You knew it was cold yesterday - but how cold?
Here's a look a Sunday's wintry weather extremes:
— BBC Weather (@bbcweather) December 11, 2017
Warmest day: Swanage 10.7C
Coldest day: Braemar -6.2C
Coldest night: Dalwhinnie-12.4 °C
Wettest: Liscombe47.2 mm
Sunniest: Kinloss5.4 hours pic.twitter.com/rWHC5wMmqj
Fittingly, one of the coldest places in the country was Chillingham Barnes in Northumberland.
Nominative determinism in action: one of the coldest places last night was Chillingham Barns, Northumberland, at -11.6C. pic.twitter.com/mMwgWF5X8n
— Alexander Britton (@adbritton) December 11, 2017
A reminder that all schools in Birmingham are closed, and 200 are shut in Gloucestershire.
Good morning everyone. Look around and all you’ll see is snow and ice which is affecting public transport and motorists getting about. ALL schools run by Birmingham City Council and Solihull Council will be closed today (11/12). Please take extra care if you’re out & about! pic.twitter.com/U6ysVwH4Li
— Birmingham Updates (@BhamUpdates) December 11, 2017
In the capital there is good news and bad news:
now the bad news:
— BBC London Travel (@BBCTravelAlert) December 11, 2017
• Ice on many back roads, especially to the north
• Over 200 flights (arrivals / departures) cancelled at Heathrow.
(Still awaiting an update on the trains..!) [ro]
The latest travel updates from National Rail:
#UKSnow - Trains are unable to run between Watford Junction and St Albans Abbey and also between Stourbridge Town and Stourbridge Junction
— National Rail (@nationalrailenq) December 11, 2017
#UKSnow - Poor weather conditions affecting West Midlands Trains services today https://t.co/WReYPiMDNR
— National Rail (@nationalrailenq) December 11, 2017
Passengers with tickets for Sunday can travel today on Virgin Trains.
#VTINFO Passengers with tickets dated for 10/12/17 can travel today 11/12/17. Services will be running this morning and live travel info can be found at https://t.co/aLA1ux5OXZ
— Virgin Trains (@VirginTrains) December 11, 2017
Just a reminder of conditions across the country yesterday:
Flying from Heathrow today? Read this first:
If your flight is cancelled, we ask that you do not travel to the airport and keep updated via your airline’s website. We're working with our airline partners to return aircraft to where they need to be and full service recovery remains the focus. (2/3)
— Heathrow Airport (@HeathrowAirport) December 11, 2017
The latest wrap from the Press Association warns of snow and ice causing treacherous driving conditions at the start of the working week.
Here is a breakdown of what we can expect, after 12 inches of snow fell overnight in some parts of the country and temperatures fell to minus 12C:
- 10,000 homes are without power in the Midlands, South Wales and South West
- 800 homes in Oxfordshire without power
- The RAC expects 11,000 breakdowns on Monday - 20% more than usual
- Journeys will take two to three times longer than normal
- Thousands of tonnes of salt have been spread on the M5, M6, M40, M42, M69, and the A5 and A49, with gritting crews also targeting the M1.
- Hundreds of schools are closed.
Met Office spokesman Oli Claydon said, with snow flurries fading, most places across the country will wake up to a “bright sunny morning” and that it will be “very cold overnight”. With ice expected “quite widely” for many beginning another working week, he said there will be “widespread slippery, icy conditions” with some “tricky conditions” on the roads and pavements.
“Another feature for Monday morning is that there is some rain that is going to come across and clip the south east corner of the UK. There is a separate ice warning out for that because there is a chance that that rain could fall as a little bit of snow over the higher ground.”
Birmingham Children’s Hospital has put a call out for help transporting staff in to work – they need people with 4WD vehicles to volunteer.
URGENT APPEAL: Birmingham Children’s Hospital is appealing for people with 4x4s to help transport staff to the hospital in the city centre. If you can help, please call 07799 694 895. pic.twitter.com/L8hMTzbCCn
— Birmingham Updates (@BhamUpdates) December 10, 2017
British Airways is reducing its flight schedule from Heathrow today.
Customers are advised to check the status of their flight before leaving for the airport. You can do that here.
National Rail suggests anyone travelling today checks the journey planner to find out if their route is affected by bad weather.
Travelling today? You can check your journey via our planner to see any affects from poor weather https://t.co/1SgXYZJjFp
— National Rail (@nationalrailenq) December 11, 2017
Heathrow warns of more delays
Airport operators have warned some flights at Heathrow will be disrupted today due to “crew and aircraft being out of position following yesterday’s weather”.
Passengers should check their flight status with their airline, the website warns.
Hello and welcome to our snow/traffic chaos/weather blog, where we will keep an eye on transport and life disruption across the UK - and probably include some nice pictures of the snow.
Millions of Britons will be waking up this morning to more of the white stuff, freezing temperatures and more trouble on the roads. If you don’t need to go anywhere, don’t.
Hundreds of schools are closed and the Met Office is predicting severe frost and biting cold that could cause major travel disruption. For our latest wrap on the extreme winter weather, read on: