Parts of northern England have had heavy snowfall overnight and the Met Office has warned that rural communities are at risk of being cut off and that widespread travel disruption is likely.
The warning came after the Met Office described last month as the coldest January in the UK since 2010, bringing an average temperature of 2.2C. It had also been the coldest calendar month since March 2013, which also recorded an average temperature of 2.2C. The coldest January on record was 1963 with a mean temperature of minus 1.9C.
Hundreds of schools, which were open to vulnerable children and those of key workers, have closed in Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Oldham, Greater Manchester. Heavy snow forced coronavirus vaccine appointments in parts of North Yorkshire to be rescheduled.
An amber weather warning for snow came into force across much of South Yorkshire, and parts of Derbyshire, West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester at 3am on Tuesday and was to last until 1pm.
Overnight, vehicles became stuck on the eastbound M62 near Rochdale, Lancashire, between junction 21 for Milnrow and junction 22 for Denshaw, leading to a temporary closure of the carriageway. In the early hours a lorry jack-knifed on the same motorway westbound between junctions 23 and 22.
Lancashire police said emergency services had been called to numerous collisions, and warned motorists to make only necessary journeys. Overnight, Derbyshire police also said crashes were “rolling in” on the roads as High Peak, Dales, Chesterfield and north-east Derbyshire had heavy snowfall.
Forecasters said motorists who used the roads were at risk of becoming stranded, while rail and flight cancellations were likely. Power cuts and disruption to mobile phone coverage were also expected, and rural communities faced being cut off completely.
The snow was expected to move north over the course of Tuesday morning, before clearing and becoming brighter from the south in the early afternoon. Over the next seven days, much of Scotland is also bracing for icy and snowy conditions.
Elsewhere, there is a yellow weather warning for rain and snow across Co Derry and Co Antrim in Northern Ireland in force until midday on Tuesday, meaning flooding is possible.
An alert for snow and ice is also in place from central Scotland down to the Midlands until midnight on Tuesday, which is likely to affect public transport and motorists.
Between 5cm and 10cm of snow could fall over higher ground in southern Scotland and northernmost counties in England with the possibility of 20cm or more across the highest roads.
Jason Kelly, the Met Office’s deputy chief meteorologist, said: “While the south of the UK hangs on to the milder air for much of this week as we approach the weekend, the area of low pressure responsible for the snow across the north of the UK will clear, allowing colder air to push south and west across much of the country. Further snow is expected for most parts of Scotland on Friday, while Saturday will be cold for all.”
