More than 3,000 schools have been shut after heavy snow and ice brought Britain to a standstill this morning as forecasters predict more severe weather is on the way.
Forecasters predicted freezing temperatures and further snow showers today
would add to commuters' woes. This morning ice and snow grounded planes,
left roads impassable and caused severe delays to the rail network.
Icy road conditions led to the death of one man in Essex last night while a
woman in her 20s was discovered dead having collapsed in the snow.
The wintry weather is also causing chaos in the skies. Heathrow has cancelled
131 flights, about one in ten of the number scheduled for today, while East
Midlands airport, Robin Hood airport near Doncaster and Leeds Bradford
airport are all closed. Birmingham Airport was also experiencing delays.
National Rail warned anyone travelling by rail today to be braced for another
day of delays and cancellations as at least eight rail networks faced severe
delays.
East Coast, Eurostar, First Capital Connect, London Overground, Southeastern,
Southern, South West Trains and Virgin trains are all facing disruption.
South West Trains said it was running a revised timetable throughout its network because of the weather, and would be concentrating on its mainline services.
The company said there would be no services between Ascot in Berkshire and Ash Vale in Surrey, between Virginia Water and Weybridge, or from Salisbury to Bristol.
It was also running revised timetables on other routes.
Southern said trains were unable to operate between Lewes and Haywards Heath in Sussex or between Horsham and Dorking or Reigate and Redhill in Surrey. The Southern service between South Croydon and Milton Keynes was also suspended.
In London, the tube has been badly affected by the weather. There are severe delays on the Circle, Hammersmith & City, Jubilee and Metropolitan lines while the London Overground, District, Piccadilly and Metropolitan lines are part suspended.
Eurostar said snow and ice in the UK and northern France were leading to speed restrictions and delays on all its trains. Six services were also cancelled, with customers told they could exchange their tickets for another date.
Road closures also caused havoc this morning as people battled to get into work. Conditions were particularly bad on the M6 and M64, while one lane was closed on the M4.
The A628 was closed in both directions between the junctions with the A57 at Hollingworth and the A616 at Flouch due to heavy snow.
The A66 was also closed in both directions between the junctions with the A685 (Brough) and the A1 (Scotch Corner) due to snow. The road is not expected to open for several hours.
Southbound access to the A282 from the A206 was blocked.
Met Office forecasters said as much as 20cm of snow could fall over the Pennines today although southern England should escape further heavy coverings.
Temperatures are likely to be very cold though with the thermometer struggling to get above 1C in London or above zero in eastern parts. Tonight it could reach -10C in some rural parts of the south.
Tomorrow brings further risk of snow while south west England, and even parts of Hampshire, could see between 5-10cm.
They have issued severe weather warnings across large swathes of the country. Orange 'be prepared' warnings, the second highest level of alert, have been issued for snow across Yorkshire, North East England, North West England and Scotland.
Yellow 'be aware' warnings, the third highest level of alert, are in place force across London and the South East, South West England, East England and Wales, while yellow warnings for snow have been issued for the East Midlands, Northern Ireland, East England and Scotland.
This morning, the wintry weather led to more than 3000 school closures across the West Midlands, Lancashire, Surrey, East Anglia and Wales.
Cllr David Simmonds, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People department, said: “Councils up and down the country are working hard to help schools stay open wherever possible.
“Routes to large schools are gritting priorities for local authorities as they know how important keeping them open is both in terms of continuity of teaching for pupils and avoiding costly and disruptive childcare for parents.
“Ultimately, headteachers, in consultation with school governors, make the final decision on whether or not to close a school. This is based on a range of local circumstances including the number of teachers who can make it into work safely, dangerous road conditions, or problems with vital supplies such as food, heating or water."
The winter weather continued to take its toll yesterday after a woman, believed to be in her 20s, was discovered by a man walking his dog in Church Meadow, Deal, Kent, at 7.30am yesterday morning. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The 25-year-old woman could have died after falling in sub-zero temperatures after a night out, police said.
A Kent Police spokesman said: "There are other possibilities we are looking out but one theory is that this is a tragic accident where a young woman was on her way home from a night out, but she didn't make it to where she was staying.
"We don't know if that was because of the cold, or she slipped or she was drunk or she became ill."
Earlier, police said the woman was pronounced dead at the scene and the death was not being treated as suspicious but it was unexplained.
Meanwhile a teenager was badly injured while sledging and remains critically ill in hospital.
Liam Stafford, 16, hit a tree in Flatts Lane Country Park, Normanby, Middlesbrough, at 1pm yesterday.
He was flown by the Great North East Air Ambulance to the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough suffering from head injuries.
Cleveland Police appealed for witnesses as a spokeswoman described his condition as critical but stable.
A man was also killed when the car he was driving left the road in wintry conditions.
The accident happened on the northbound carriageway of the A12 between Kelvedon and Marks Tey in Essex at about 7.05pm yesterday.
Police found that a Ford Mondeo had left the road and crashed into with a tree on the embankment.
The driver, a 59-year-old man from the Colchester area, died at the scene.
South West Trains said it was running a revised timetable throughout its network because of the weather, and would be concentrating on its mainline services.
The company said there would be no services between Ascot in Berkshire and Ash Vale in Surrey, between Virginia Water and Weybridge, or from Salisbury to Bristol.
It was also running revised timetables on other routes.
Southern said trains were unable to operate between Lewes and Haywards Heath in Sussex or between Horsham and Dorking or Reigate and Redhill in Surrey. The Southern service between South Croydon and Milton Keynes was also suspended.
In London, the tube has been badly affected by the weather. There are severe delays on the Circle, Hammersmith & City, Jubilee and Metropolitan lines while the London Overground, District, Piccadilly and Metropolitan lines are part suspended.
Eurostar said snow and ice in the UK and northern France were leading to speed restrictions and delays on all its trains. Six services were also cancelled, with customers told they could exchange their tickets for another date.
Road closures also caused havoc this morning as people battled to get into work. Conditions were particularly bad on the M6 and M64, while one lane was closed on the M4.
The A628 was closed in both directions between the junctions with the A57 at Hollingworth and the A616 at Flouch due to heavy snow.
The A66 was also closed in both directions between the junctions with the A685 (Brough) and the A1 (Scotch Corner) due to snow. The road is not expected to open for several hours.
Southbound access to the A282 from the A206 was blocked.
Met Office forecasters said as much as 20cm of snow could fall over the Pennines today although southern England should escape further heavy coverings.
Temperatures are likely to be very cold though with the thermometer struggling to get above 1C in London or above zero in eastern parts. Tonight it could reach -10C in some rural parts of the south.
Tomorrow brings further risk of snow while south west England, and even parts of Hampshire, could see between 5-10cm.
They have issued severe weather warnings across large swathes of the country. Orange 'be prepared' warnings, the second highest level of alert, have been issued for snow across Yorkshire, North East England, North West England and Scotland.
Yellow 'be aware' warnings, the third highest level of alert, are in place force across London and the South East, South West England, East England and Wales, while yellow warnings for snow have been issued for the East Midlands, Northern Ireland, East England and Scotland.
This morning, the wintry weather led to more than 3000 school closures across the West Midlands, Lancashire, Surrey, East Anglia and Wales.
Cllr David Simmonds, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People department, said: “Councils up and down the country are working hard to help schools stay open wherever possible.
“Routes to large schools are gritting priorities for local authorities as they know how important keeping them open is both in terms of continuity of teaching for pupils and avoiding costly and disruptive childcare for parents.
“Ultimately, headteachers, in consultation with school governors, make the final decision on whether or not to close a school. This is based on a range of local circumstances including the number of teachers who can make it into work safely, dangerous road conditions, or problems with vital supplies such as food, heating or water."
The winter weather continued to take its toll yesterday after a woman, believed to be in her 20s, was discovered by a man walking his dog in Church Meadow, Deal, Kent, at 7.30am yesterday morning. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The 25-year-old woman could have died after falling in sub-zero temperatures after a night out, police said.
A Kent Police spokesman said: "There are other possibilities we are looking out but one theory is that this is a tragic accident where a young woman was on her way home from a night out, but she didn't make it to where she was staying.
"We don't know if that was because of the cold, or she slipped or she was drunk or she became ill."
Earlier, police said the woman was pronounced dead at the scene and the death was not being treated as suspicious but it was unexplained.
Meanwhile a teenager was badly injured while sledging and remains critically ill in hospital.
Liam Stafford, 16, hit a tree in Flatts Lane Country Park, Normanby, Middlesbrough, at 1pm yesterday.
He was flown by the Great North East Air Ambulance to the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough suffering from head injuries.
Cleveland Police appealed for witnesses as a spokeswoman described his condition as critical but stable.
A man was also killed when the car he was driving left the road in wintry conditions.
The accident happened on the northbound carriageway of the A12 between Kelvedon and Marks Tey in Essex at about 7.05pm yesterday.
Police found that a Ford Mondeo had left the road and crashed into with a tree on the embankment.
The driver, a 59-year-old man from the Colchester area, died at the scene.
The A628 was closed in both directions between the junctions with the A57 at
Hollingworth and the A616 at Flouch due to heavy snow.
The A66 was also closed in both directions between the junctions with the A685
(Brough) and the A1 (Scotch Corner) due to snow. The road is not expected to
open for several hours.
Southbound access to the A282 from the A206 was blocked.
Met Office forecasters said as much as 20cm of snow could fall over the
Pennines today although southern England should escape further heavy
coverings.
Temperatures are likely to be very cold though with the thermometer struggling
to get above 1C in London or above zero in eastern parts. Tonight it could
reach -10C in some rural parts of the south.
Tomorrow brings further risk of snow while south west England, and even parts
of Hampshire, could see between 5-10cm.
They have issued severe weather warnings across large swathes of the country.
Orange 'be prepared' warnings, the second highest level of alert, have been
issued for snow across Yorkshire, North East England, North West England and
Scotland.
Yellow 'be aware' warnings, the third highest level of alert, are in place
force across London and the South East, South West England, East England and
Wales, while yellow warnings for snow have been issued for the East
Midlands, Northern Ireland, East England and Scotland.
This morning, the wintry weather led to more than 3000 school closures across
the West Midlands, Lancashire, Surrey, East Anglia and Wales.
Cllr David Simmonds, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and
Young People department, said: “Councils up and down the country are working
hard to help schools stay open wherever possible.
“Routes to large schools are gritting priorities for local authorities as they
know how important keeping them open is both in terms of continuity of
teaching for pupils and avoiding costly and disruptive childcare for
parents.
“Ultimately, headteachers, in consultation with school governors, make the
final decision on whether or not to close a school. This is based on a range
of local circumstances including the number of teachers who can make it into
work safely, dangerous road conditions, or problems with vital supplies such
as food, heating or water."
The winter weather continued to take its toll yesterday after a woman,
believed to be in her 20s, was discovered by a man walking his dog in Church
Meadow, Deal, Kent, at 7.30am yesterday morning. She was pronounced dead at
the scene.
The 25-year-old woman could have died after falling in sub-zero temperatures
after a night out, police said.
A Kent Police spokesman said: "There are other possibilities we are
looking out but one theory is that this is a tragic accident where a young
woman was on her way home from a night out, but she didn't make it to where
she was staying.
"We don't know if that was because of the cold, or she slipped or she was
drunk or she became ill."
Earlier, police said the woman was pronounced dead at the scene and the death
was not being treated as suspicious but it was unexplained.
Meanwhile a teenager was badly injured while sledging and remains critically
ill in hospital.
Liam Stafford, 16, hit a tree in Flatts Lane Country Park, Normanby,
Middlesbrough, at 1pm yesterday.
He was flown by the Great North East Air Ambulance to the James Cook
University Hospital in Middlesbrough suffering from head injuries.
Cleveland Police appealed for witnesses as a spokeswoman described his
condition as critical but stable.
A man was also killed when the car he was driving left the road in wintry
conditions.
The accident happened on the northbound carriageway of the A12 between
Kelvedon and Marks Tey in Essex at about 7.05pm yesterday.
Police found that a Ford Mondeo had left the road and crashed into with a tree
on the embankment.
The driver, a 59-year-old man from the Colchester area, died at the scene.
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