Chaos as UK temps plummet to -21C
Pastor Dale Morgan
Chaos as UK temps plummet to -21C
*
* From correspondents in London
* From: Reuters
* January 08, 2010 7:29PM
TEMPERATURES in parts of Britain plummeted to below minus 21C overnight,
with forecasters predicting no let up in the cold snap as widespread icy
conditions continued to cause disruption today.
Severe weather warnings remained in place for much of the country with
ice and sub zero temperatures making for treacherous driving conditions
and further heavy snow forecast in some areas.
"All in all quite a cold night again, everywhere across the UK was below
zero," said Met Office forecaster Charles Powell.
"As a result most people are waking up again to widespread ice across
the whole country, so it is going to be a major problem for transport."
Temperatures hit a low of minus 21.1C in northern Scotland overnight,
with minus 11C recorded in Northern Ireland, minus 16.4C near Manchester
in England, and minus 14.5C the low in Wales.
Forecasters expect the rest of today to be mostly dry and bright across
Scotland, western England and Wales, although temperatures will remain
very cold. Up to 5cm of snow is predicted across northeast England, East
Anglia and the east coast.
"It looks set to continue certainly for the next week to week and a
half," said Mr Powell. "
There is no respite, no significant increase in temperatures."
Thousands of schools across the country remain closed, threatening to
impact next week's GCSE and A-level exams in England, Wales and Northern
Ireland if they are unable to reopen amid the continuing cold snap.
National Grid said it had asked gas suppliers to tell large industrial
users on interruptible contracts, who pay less for their gas on the
condition their supply will be interrupted at times of shortage, to stop
using gas because of high demand.
Yesterday it issued a warning over gas supplies as the cold weather
pushed demand to record high levels at a time when disruptions to the
biggest North Sea gas field hit supply.
Meanwhile thousands of homes across southern England remained without
electricity after fallen trees and heavy snowfall affected power lines.
Train routes across many parts of the country were disrupted by ice and
snow on Friday, with rail operators First Great Western, Northern Rail,
Virgin Trains, South West Trains and First Capital Connect among those
announcing delays and cancellations to services.
Eurostar said it would be running a restricted service on Friday and
over the weekend due to the severe weather conditions, and asked
passengers to cancel or postpone their trips where possible.
Major airports such as Heathrow and Gatwick remained open, but delays
and cancellations to flights continued with operators advising
passengers to check with their airlines before travelling to the airport.