UK weather: Snow and ice to bring travel disruption to much of England and Scotland
Written by News on 16/01/2021
Snow and ice is likely to hit large parts of England and Scotland on Saturday bringing travel disruption, the Met Office has said.
A “band of heavy snow” was expected to move across southeast and eastern England in the early hours of Saturday, with the heaviest falls forecast for East Anglia.
The Met Office has issued an amber snow alert for the east of England until 2pm, with a yellow snow warning for the South East until 8pm.
A further yellow warning of snow and ice has been issued in a band stretching from the Midlands to the top of Scotland until 6pm on Saturday.
Snow is likely to fall in the South East and East Anglia on Saturday, the Met Office said..
It said there was a likelihood of “delays or cancellations to rail and air travel, possible travel delays on roads stranding some vehicles and passengers”.
It also warned some rural communities may be cut off and power cuts may occur.
The alert for the rest of England and Scotland warns of “a small chance of travel delays on roads with some stranded vehicles and passengers, along with delayed or cancelled rail and air travel”.
Snow has caused problems in the UK in the past days, with COVID vaccination appointments being cancelled and court cases called off.
Hundreds of young people in Leeds took part in a large snowball fight in Hyde Park on Thursday.
Participants defended the gathering, which seemed to flout social distancing guidelines.
Adam, a 20-year-old student, said: “I think a lot of people were just in the park anyway enjoying the snow and joined in.
“It was a very welcome relief… a welcome laugh that people needed.”
Elsewhere in Europe, Switzerland has been put on high alert for avalanches after heavy snowfall.
Zurich’s public transport system has been shut down, with some eastern parts of the country seeing as much as 80cm of snow in 24 hours.
Police in southwest Germany said a 72-year-old woman died after a tree saturated with snow fell on her as she walked her dog near the Swiss border.
(c) Sky News 2021: UK weather: Snow and ice to bring travel disruption to much of England and Scotland
