Fresh misery for flood-hit communities following Storm Christoph as blizzards sweep into Britain
Swathes of Britain awake to a blanket of snow this morning sparking fresh misery for flood-hit communities after Storm Christoph as blizzards sweep in and rivers breach temporary barriers
- Forecasters said -7C blizzard conditions would hit many areas of Britain as a blast of Arctic air sweeps the UK
- A blast of Arctic air is sweeping towards the UK after last week’s Storm Christoph continued to cause chaos
- Temporary barriers along the River Severn in Worcestershire were breached after a ‘tidal wave’ of flooding
Britons woke up to a blanket of snow this morning, sparking fresh misery for flood-hit communities swamped by a month’s worth of rain from Storm Christoph.
Forecasters said -7C blizzard conditions would hit many areas as a blast of Arctic air swept towards Britain.
Heavy snow and ice led to a crop of crashes this morning, including a lorry which jack-knifed in a spectacular accident in Norfolk.
The huge juggernaut skidded out of control and ended up sideways across the A148 at Hillington, near King’s Lynn. Miraculously it didn’t hit any other traffic and the driver escaped shaken but unhurt.
Another incident saw two people cut out of their car with hydraulic rescue equipment by firefighters. The vehicle had collided with a tree in the early hours amid wintry conditions, leaving the driver and their injured passenger trapped in the freezing cold, police said.
This morning’s chaos comes after last week’s storm continued to cause chaos yesterday.
Temporary barriers along the River Severn in Worcestershire were breached, with residents describing the surging floodwaters as a ‘tidal wave’.
Defences at the riverside town of Bewdley failed, leaving homes and businesses under water and residents devastated.
Gold Hill at Shaftesbury in Dorset is covered in snow at dawn after a heavy wintry shower overnight. Snow blanketed vast swathes of Britain this morning
Children sledge down Gold Hill, in Shaftesbury, Dorset. Conditions are set to become more hazardous going into the final week of January
Snow in the Cotswolds this morning. Forecasters said -7C blizzard conditions would hit many areas as a blast of Arctic air swept towards Britain
Snowy conditions on the A46 near Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. Conditions are set to become more hazardous going into the final week of January as the Met Office gets ready to put in place five new weather warnings for snow and ice
Heavy snow and ice led to a crop of crashes this morning, including a lorry which jack-knifed in a spectacular accident in Norfolk
Snow-topped houses in the Cotswolds this morning as snow continues to fall across the UK following last week’s Storm Christoph
A view of a garden as the occupant wakes up to a fall of snow in South East Wales this morning with vast swathes across the UK
People enjoy the snow in Bristol this morning after Britons all over the country woke up to vast swathes of frost on Sunday
A driver tries to clear a thick layer of snow that settled on their car after a flurry this morning in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Irene Buxton, 70, who lives near the defences, said she was woken by a ‘crash’ as the barriers collapsed on Friday night.
‘I looked out of the window and it was like a tidal wave going towards the town,’ she said.
‘The water is in my hall and in my kitchen and we’re just battling to keep it out of the living room.’
Hereford and Worcester rescue teams were out in force, rescuing a man and his two dogs from Bewdley’s floodwaters, which were expected to peak at 5.53m, just shy of the November 2000 record of 5.56m.
Further warnings were issued along a stretch of the Severn, including Ironbridge in Shropshire and Stourport-on-Severn in Worcestershire, which saw severe flooding during Storm Dennis last year.
Environment Secretary George Eustice warned of more ‘challenges’ in parts of England as a blanket of snow was predicted.
Many Britons will wake up to snow this morning, with the Met Office expecting low temperatures and frost across the country
Cars on a snowy A350 road near Hindon in Wiltshire. Conditions are set to become more hazardous going into the final week of January
Cars stuck in the snow on the A303 near to Cricklade in north Wiltshire in the early hours of Sunday morning with snow warnings in place across the country
Snowy conditions on the A46 near Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. Britons across the country woke up to a blanket of snow today
Forecasters said the snow and ice will cause widespread travel disruption, with driving treacherous across the country. Temperatures were expected to plummet to -7C in parts of northern England and -10C in Scotland.
The Met Office said a band of rain will cross the South West of England and turn to snow as it moves eastwards. Up to 2in of snow could settle, but areas above 300ft could see as much as 10in.
Temperatures across the whole of the UK dropped below freezing last night, with the coldest temperatures in the Scottish Highlands at an icy -10C.
Elsewhere, London and Manchester got down to -3C overnight and Bristol, Belfast and Glasgow dropped to -2C.
Frosts are expected overnight on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
Martin Bowles, meteorologist at the Met Office, said: ‘The biggest hazard over the next couple of days is going to be ice because we’re getting these snow showers which will all freeze overnight.
Storm Christoph – which battered the country with a month’s worth of rain in less than 48 hours – will be replaced by snow and ice as the Met Office issues a yellow warning for Scotland (pictured)
Environment Agency workers flood a storm basin ahead of a visit of Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson near the River Mersey in Didsbury, Manchester, on Saturday
Flood-hit communities swamped by a month’s worth of rain from Storm Christoph were warned to brace for fresh misery last night as a big freeze is set to grip the country today. Pictured: A man stands and looks out over the River Ouse in York as it floods following rain and recent melting snow
A lone walker takes a stroll in the snow in Muston, Leicestershire, on Saturday morning. A -10C big freeze is set to grip the country as Britons brace for a six-inch blanket of snow – as parts of the country have already been hit with buckets of the white stuff on Saturday morning
Hereford and Worcester water rescue teams save a man and his two dogs, Poppy and Eddie, from the flood water at Bewdley as the Severn breached floor barriers on Saturday morning. Another dog, Malcom, peered over a flood barrier at his home on Beales Corner with the water lapping below
‘Obviously roads tend to be quite well gritted, especially main roads, but I would warn people to be careful on pavements, minor roads that don’t get gritted or city roads.’
The Met Office’s first warning for snow and ice is already in place in north-west England, but four more will be in place by tomorrow morning.
Areas being placed under warnings are Northern Ireland, south-west England and South Wales, the Midlands, and south-east England.
Mr Bowles said the cold spell would continue until about Wednesday before being replaced with milder temperatures in the final days of the month.
‘That’s not to say that that’s the end of all cold weather for winter, it isn’t, we’ve just got a mild spell coming up,’ he said.
Despite people being urged to heed flood warnings into the weekend, Mr Bowles said they were ‘gradually reducing’ and that more heavy rain was not expected until Wednesday night or Thursday.
‘We’re hopeful that the river levels will fall quite significantly before that so we’re not expecting any significant flooding problems over the next few days, apart from in areas where the warnings are already in place,’ he said.
The Environment Agency previously warned of ‘exceptionally high river levels’ following days of heavy rainfall in the wake of Storm Christoph, with hundreds of properties across the country flooded.
