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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Matthew Weaver

UK weather: snow and ice warnings amid travel chaos – as it happened

Summary

That’s it for today. They’ll be more updates soon the UK Weather section of the site.

Collecting the bins has been a struggle today. Many councils announced cancelled or abandoned collections:

The majority of flights from Bristol Airport have been cancelled for the rest of the day, the airport has announced. It hopes to be operating a normal service on Saturday.

Claire Cranton, who works in the communications team for GSMA the mobile network operator’s trade body, has been stuck on the A303 in Wiltshire for two hours and is frustrated by the lack of information about the delays.

Speaking to the Guardian from her car she said:

“I left Blackheath this morning at 8.40am to go to Exeter and I’ve just past Chicklade. It’s been fine until Chicklade and we’ve sat there for nearly two hours.

There’s very little on Twitter. The AA, the RAC says ‘no issues, slight congestion, 15 minute delay’, I’m like yea ‘two hours’. So there you go.

There are a couple [of vehicles] that we’ve seen on the hill that are abandoned, but also a number of lorries have been trying to get up the hill. And it’s single track there not dual carriageway, and they have had to try to reverse down or they have had to turn round.

It has been quite entertaining. You see a bit of the British spirit of people walking up and down talking to each other and trying to sort out what’s going on.

I work in London and I live in Exeter. A lot of the time I fly, but I decided to drive this time, which was a bit of a mistake. I haven’t seen the roads like this.

Everywhere you’d go for information like the AA, the RAC and all those on Twitter and there’s no information.

Most of the warnings were towards the M4/M5 corridor and over that pass. I expected Salisbury Plain to be heavy but it was fine. It’s just this little bit of road.”

Updated

The NHS has thanked doctors and nurses for going to extraordinary lengths to care for patients during the cold snap.

It pointed out that NHS staff have walked miles in snow, dug vehicles out of drifts and slept in hospitals.

NHS England’s national medical director, Professor Stephen Powis, said: “It is extraordinary to see the lengths that dedicated NHS are going to make sure that people get the care they need.

“I want to send a huge thank you to all the staff and volunteers who have dug out ambulances from the snow, slept over in hospitals to make sure they are there to care for patients in the morning, and braved the wintery conditions to get to work.”

NHS England picked out these examples:

There continues to be long delays on the A303 at Chicklade in Wiltshire where vehicles abandoned overnight are adding to the congestion.

One driver complained of delays of almost two hours.

Summary

Here’s a summary of what’s happened so far:

Updated

A head teacher and 25 of his staff were stranded overnight at Callywith College in Bodmin along with 350 students.

A local Asda provided £800 of bedding free of charge, Cornwall Live reports.

School buses failed to reach the college after heavy snowfall. Principal Mark Wardle said: “It has been a life changing experience for many of us involved, it certainly isn’t something any of us will ever forget.”

Newquay Airport in Cornwall has reopened.

But disruption at Bristol continues.

Bournemouth Airport opened at 9am but it urging passengers to check with their airline.

Readers have been in touch to tell us how they’ve been affected by snow and ice across the UK.

Margo Bekkering’s garden after the snow in Amersham
Margo Bekkering’s garden after the snow in Amersham Photograph: Margo Bekkering/Guardian Community


Margo Bekkering, 57, from Amersham has been allowed to work from home today:

“I’m an executive assistant and it amazes me how, in the 35 years I have been employed, the nature of the work has changed. When I started my presence in the office would have been vital to getting any work done. Today, in the digital age, I can sit in the comfort of my own home and get work done - everything I need is at my fingertips: the internet, emails, work files, video and phone connections via Skype. What a change!”

Linda's snow pig
Linda’s snow pig Photograph: Linda from Bedminster/Guardian Community

Linda, in her 40s and living in Bedminster, Bristol is snowed in and thinks it’s great. She writes:

“I really love the white stuff. My office is in Clevedon 12 miles away but looking out the window this morning I realised there was no way I could get to work. My road doesn’t get gritted or salted so there’s no point in even trying to get the car out. I was out by 8am clearing a path through the three inches of snow to all the properties but now, hours later, you can hardly tell as the snow just keeps falling. I’m about to head out again to make as many snowmen as I can muster. We already have a snow pig from last night!”

Dean Bailey is a magazine publisher for Offstone Publishing in Stocksfield, Northumberland and is admiring the view from the office:

“Most of us have made it in fine; a bit of digging for those further out but nothing too bad! This is our first proper snow of the year here in the Tyne Valley, which always looks great outside the window.”

Dean Bailey’s view in Stocksfield, Northumberland.
Dean Bailey’s view in Stocksfield, Northumberland. Photograph: Dean Bailey/Guardian Community


Fuchsia Harmon’s snowmen she built with her dad.
Fuchsia Harmon’s snowmen she built with her dad. Photograph: Fuchsia Harmon/Guardian Community

Elsewhere, Fuchsia Harmon, 14, in Somerset has been enjoying the day off school making a snowman with her dad:

“I think it’s funny that school is cancelled because there’s hardly any snow here compared to where I came from (New England, US). School wouldn’t even be delayed for this little accumulation. But I’ll enjoy the day off and do homework, read books, watch movies, and talk with my friends.”


If you’ve been affected and want to share your photos, stories and videos you can do so by filling in the form here.

Updated

Wiltshire Health and Care, a partnership formed by the three NHS foundation trusts that serve Wiltshire to deliver adult community health services, is looking for volunteer 4x4 drivers to help nurses get to work.

Updated

Welsh rugby fans trying to get to Paris for the opener of the Six Nations kept themselves entertained at Bristol airport after flights were cancelled.

Drivers were stranded for 12 and a half hours, a bus carrying 30 school children was rescued and hundreds of cars were abandoned on Thursday night as heavy snow hit Cornwall, PA reports.

Six inches of snow reportedly fell in 45 minutes, causing travel disruption on the A30 and A39 near Bodmin, Cornwall.

A school bus which became stuck on the A39 was rescued by local police and fire brigade crews, who ferried the children to safety in 4x4s.

Steve Instance, 44, from Porthtowan in Cornwall, who was travelling from Poole, in Dorset, became jammed in among other cars as traffic built up on the A30.

Instance, a prevention manager for the RNLI, said:

“The snow just came down so quick. We just joined the back of the traffic and within a few minutes the traffic built up around me. I drive a great big four wheel drive but there was just no way of getting out, just jammed in then.

“The snow kept falling, there was a good six inches of snow within 45 minutes or so.
“Just completely stranded and didn’t move a single inch for nine and a half hours.”

He said he saw a bus carrying schoolchildren that was being assisted by a 4x4. He added that hundreds of abandoned cars, which were left when people attempted to walk to safety, added to the disruption.

A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed a school bus was rescued from the A39, south of the A30.

A spokesman said: “Police were called at around 3.25 pm last night following reports that a school bus ... has become stuck on the A39 between Halfway House and Winnards Perch - 4x4s crewed by police and fire officers attended and took the children to a place of safety.”

It is believed 30 children and four adults were on the bus and were taken to Retallack Resort, a hotel and spa resort near the A39.

Updated

Updated snow and ice warnings

The Met Office has updated and extended its yellow warnings for snow and ice to cover more areas of the UK.

A new warning has been issued for snow and ice on Saturday for Northern Ireland, west Wales and northern Scotland, eastern and southern England. There is also a separate warning for snow and ice in Scotland on Monday.

The warning for Saturday says:

Away from northern Scotland, snow accumulations will be much smaller and patchier in nature, but 2-4 cm are possible in a few places above 100 metres, perhaps most especially the North Yorkshire moors.

Updated

The A419 near Swindon and the A346 Marlborough road remain closed according to Wiltshire police, despite the efforts of gritters.

Welsh rugby fans and pundits trying to get to Paris for the opener of the Six Nations faced being stranded after flight cancellations due to snow, PA reports.

Disruptions to flights from airports in Cardiff and Bristol left queues of fans facing a race against time to get to France ahead of Friday’s evening kick-off.

France are due to host Wales in the first game of the tournament at 8pm GMT at the Stade de France.

Ex Wales captain and BBC pundit Sam Warburton was one of the passengers due to fly on the cancelled 9.30am flight from Cardiff airport to Charles de Gaulle.


He told BBC Wales: “A few of the guys went over yesterday from Bristol. I was doing some work last night for the BBC so we knew we would be cutting it fine this morning, but I am sure we will all be fine.


“I am probably too laid back for my own good so I don’t mind at all. I have got 12 hours to get out there. Even if I need to get the Eurostar or something I am sure I will be there for kick-off so I am not worried at all.”

Four flights from Cardiff to Paris are still expected to depart at 1.05pm on Friday afternoon.

The airport is advising passengers to check live flight information on their website and contact airlines directly for information.

Bristol Airport warned passengers to expect disruption into the afternoon.

Updated

Someone with a new bed should be grateful ...

Amber snow warning reduced to yellow

The Met Office has now cancelled the amber snow warning for central and southern England as the worst of the snow has now passed.

A less severe yellow warning for snow and ice remains in place for much of England and Wales. Another yellow warning for snow and ice also continues for eastern England and much of Scotland.

Here in West Berkshire, it is still snowing steadily and there is a yellow weather warning for further snow and ice until 1pm, with weather forecasts predicting up to 5cm in some places.

Most children have got a snow day: in all, 79 schools are shut across the county and only four primaries have stayed open. All West Berkshire’s 10 secondary schools are closed.

Meanwhile, for those trying to get to work, there was significant rail and road disruption. Commuter trains to Paddington were delayed - one by nearly two hours, while heavy snow is making driving conditions on the M4 and A34 hazardous. There have been several accidents on the M4 already.

Dog walkers in the snow, at Clayfield Copse, Berkshire
Dog walkers in the snow, at Clayfield Copse, Berkshire Photograph: Geoffrey Swaine/REX/Shutterstock

Children push a giant ball of snow over the cricket pitch in Hartley Wintney, in Hampshire, 40 miles west of London
Children push a giant ball of snow over the cricket pitch in Hartley Wintney, in Hampshire, 40 miles west of London Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images

Well over 1,000 schools are closed across England and Wales. The BBC reports 550 schools closed in south Wales.

Earlier we reported around 500 closed in England.

More closures have since been confirmed including 146 in Cornwall.

In Bristol more than half of the city’s schools were closed, according to PA. In Surrey 30 schools are shut, Luton lists 74 school closures, and a further 79 are closed in West Berkshire.

Furze Platt senior school, Maidenhead, which is one of the schools closed after snowfalls yesterday and overnight brought widespread disruption.
Furze Platt senior school, Maidenhead, which is one of the schools closed after snowfalls yesterday and overnight brought widespread disruption. Photograph: Pete Clifton/PA

Updated

It’s been horrible for those stuck in their vehicles in Cornwall and it’s a worrying time for vulnerable people stranded at home. But it looks like this first major snowfall of the winter in the south-west of England will be a short-lived event - nothing like the Beast from the East that caused havoc for days on end last year.

The local authorities appear to be doing a good job. Tough for them on the high ground over places like Bodmin Moor in Cornwall when it suddenly snows.

But, by and large, they have managed to prevent mass strandings at the usual problem spots such as the A303 in Wiltshire.

Thanks to Twitter and Facebook the local authorities are becoming pretty slick at getting their warnings and updates out.

The view from Jamaica Inn, made famous by Daphne du Maurier in her classic novel, on Bodmin Moor which has laid out makeshift beds for motorists who are stuck on the A30 due to snow.
The view from Jamaica Inn, made famous by Daphne du Maurier in her classic novel, on Bodmin Moor which has laid out makeshift beds for motorists who are stuck on the A30 due to snow. Photograph: Jamaica Inn/PA

Updated

With Oxfordshire blanketed in snow overnight nearly 200 state schools have said they will be closed today, including Oxford city’s largest secondary schools Cherwell, Matthew Arnold and Cheney.

But Oxford’s universities remain open, with Oxford Brookes saying that all its campuses will be operating.

Thames Valley police says only those who have to drive should do so with care. Chiltern railways have cancelled a number of services between Oxford and London Marylebone but say trains will continue to run.

Earlier this week Oxford city council activated its severe weather protocol to open emergency shelters for homeless people.

If you have been affected by the bad weather in the UK and would like to share your experiences and weather-related travel problems, then please do so via the form here. The form is encrypted and your responses are only seen by the Guardian. You can also contact the Guardian via WhatsApp by adding the contact +44(0)7867825056.

Though we’d like to hear from you, your safety and security is most important. When responding and particularly if taking photographs or video please make sure you put your safety and the safety of others first. Bad weather can be very unpredictable and carry very real risks.

#Snowmageddon, #snowday, and #snowuk are all trending on Twitter in the UK.

Here’s #snowmageddon in Bath ...

a #snowday in Kettering ...

And #snowuk at Garsington Opera in Oxfordshire.

There are 146 schools closed in Cornwall but at least the bins are being collected and the buses are running.

Updated

Coldest night for seven years

Last night was the coldest for seven years, according to the Met Office.

It recorded a low of -15.4C (4.3F) just before midnight at Braemar in the Scottish Highlands. Had it fallen more than 0.2C (0.4F) lower it would have surpassed the low of -15.6C (3.92F) set in 2012.

The river Clunie in Braemar in the Scottish Highlands where temperatures dropped to -15.4C.
The river Clunie in Braemar in the Scottish Highlands where temperatures dropped to -15.4C. Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA

Updated

This was scene on the A30 last night where more than 100 people were forced to take shelter in the famous Jamaica Inn.

But the conditions have since improved according to Highways Agency.

Spare a thought for those forced to work very long hours in the snow.

Police sergeant Harry Tangye put in an 18 hour shift.

Staff at Callywith College in Cornwall stayed with stranded students overnight.

A courier driver slipped off the road just a mile short of a 270 mile journey, according to South Wales Road police.

Police in Wiltshire are urging drivers to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary.

Northumbria Police are warning drivers to avoid the A690 between Durham and Sunderland because vehicles are stuck on the road due to the weather.

Bristol airport will remain shut until noon.

Updated

Hundreds of schools closed

Hundreds of schools have been forced to closed:

The latest closures include:

  • 177 schools and two colleges in Hampshire
  • 300 in Buckinghamshire
  • Eight in Swansea
  • Six in East Sussex
  • 12 in and around Monmouthshire
  • 14 in the Vale of Glamorgan
  • Seven in Herefordshire
  • Four in Plymouth
  • All schools in Blaenau Gwent

Updated

Summary

With a new snow warning, dozens stranded on Bodmin Moor, and widespread travel disruption it’s high time for a snow blog.

It may be piffling compared to the polar vortex in the US, but snow in the UK has a habit creating of chaos. We’ll have all the latest as the UK struggles to cope with the wintry blast.

Here’s a summary of the latest:

  • The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning of snow for part of the South East. It said: “Travel delays on roads are likely, stranding some vehicles and passengers.” It added there was a “good chance” some rural communities could be cut off and power cuts were “likely”.

Updated

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