UK snow: travel chaos ahead of weekend as Storm Larisa batters UK with blizzards

Tuesday night was the coldest night of the year so far, the Met Office has said.

Temperatures at Kinbrace in the Highlands dropped to this year’s record low of minus 15.2C overnight – and more snow is forecast for much of the UK through the rest of the week.

Night-time sub-zero temperatures are predicted in all four UK nations until at least Friday, according to forecasters.

After a “very chilly” start to Wednesday, the Met Office has issued several yellow weather warnings for snow and ice across the UK.

The warnings cover northern and eastern Scotland until 10am, and Northern Ireland and southern England until 9am.

Forecasters have said snowfall will continue in most places until Friday, with a yellow warning for snow covering all of the UK north of Birmingham spanning from 3am on Thursday until 6pm on Friday.

A yellow warning for snow and ice also covers London and the south from midnight on Wednesday until 9am on Thursday.

Flights from several UK airports have been hit by delays due adverse weather this morning, including at Bristol Airport which has temporarily closed for “snow clearing operations” until the next update at 11am.

At least 27 flights due to depart from the airport on Wednesday morning have been affected, while several arrivals have been diverted to Birmingham.

A spokesperson said “additional staff are on site to assist with the adverse weather response” and passengers have been advised to check with their airline prior to arriving at the airport.

Gatwick Airport said some passengers experienced “minor delays” on Wednesday morning but “the airport is open and flights are operating”.

The coldest overnight temperature of the year has dropped a further 0.2 degrees to minus 15.4C, according to the Met Office.

A reading of minus 15.2C was recorded at Kinbrace in the Highlands on Tuesday night and the temperature in the area has since decreased even further.

A Level 3 Cold Weather Alert for the whole of England has been issued by the UK Health and Security Agency.

The alert is in place between 1am on Monday 6 March and midnight on Thursday 9 March.

Dr Agostinho Sousa, the agency’s head of extreme events and health protection, has advised people to check on vulnerable relatives and told pensioners and anyone with an underlying health condition to heat their home to at least 18C.

Met Office spokesperson Nicola Maxey has said an “Arctic maritime air” drifting over the UK from the north is causing the widespread snowfall and it could generate “blizzard conditions” on Thursday (9 March).

She said: “We’re going to see a cold night again tonight, especially in Scotland. That Arctic maritime air will cross large swathes of the country on Thursday.

“There’s also some strong winds around tomorrow, so that has the potential to lead to some blizzard conditions and drifting of lying snow.”

Average snow levels of 2 to 5cm is expected across much of the UK tomorrow, the Met Office has said, including in major northern cities like Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle.

Up to 15cm (just under 6in) of snow is predicted to fall across higher ground in northern England, with “in excess of 25cm (just under 10in)” likely in the Scottish Highlands.

The national forecaster warned that temperatures could plummet to minus 3C in London on Wednesday night, and minus 5C in Edinburgh. The lowest predicted temperature of minus 12C is expected to be felt in Aviemore in the Highlands.

More snow is forecast across the UK on Thursday with much of the country set to see up to 5cm.

National Highways has issued a “severe weather alert” for snow in parts of England for Wednesday afternoon, with drivers urged to only travel when essential.

The weather warning means driving conditions will be treacherous, especially for larger vehicles and those not equipped with four-wheel drive between 3pm and midnight in the West Midlands and the East of England.

HGV drivers have been asked to consider avoiding parts of the road network with steeper than normal inclines, where their vehicle could become jack-knifed or stranded, such as the M40 at junctions 4-5 and the A49 in Shropshire.

National Highways executive director of operations, Duncan Smith, said: “We are well prepared and our gritters have been out in full force since Friday and will continue to treat the roads. We are asking drivers to plan ahead, check the forecast and allow more time for their journeys.”

Here's the outlook for the next few days:

Temperatures at Altnaharra in the Scottish Highlands dropped to minus 16C on Wednesday night, making it the coldest night of the year so far, according to the Met Office.

It also marks the lowest temperature in the UK in the month of March since 2010, when minus 18.6C was recorded at Braemar in Aberdeenshire.

A yellow warning for snow and ice is in place in the north of Scotland, where temperatures were as low as minus 4C in the early hours of Thursday morning.

A further yellow warning is also in place for snow across the central belt, Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders – with an additional warning for snow and ice in place for the south east of the country.

Snowstorms are due to affect large parts of England on Thursday after the coldest March temperature in more than a decade was recorded overnight.

An amber warning for “strong winds bringing blizzard conditions” has been issued for 21 hours from 3pm on Thursday until midday on Friday, covering major cities including Liverpool, Sheffield, Bradford and Leeds.

The Met Office says between 10 and 20cm of snow is likely to fall for an area stretching from Stoke-on-Trent to Durham, with up to 40cm in some places.

There is likely to be "significant disruption" to transport, power lines and mobile phone network coverage, with heavy snow, strong easterly winds and blizzards predicted.

East Midlands Airport has temporarily closed its runway due to the weather.

The airport is under a yellow weather warning for snow in Leicestershire, which is in place until 2pm on Friday (10 March).

In a statement, the airport said: “Following a period of heavy snowfall, we have temporarily closed our runway. Health and safety will always be our top priority and operations will resume at the earliest opportunity.

“Passengers are advised to contact their airline for the most up-to-date flight information.”

The airport’s website says that four flights have been held at the gate, while others scheduled to depart later on Thursday have been delayed.

Network Rail has said multiple fallen trees have blocked lines between Manchester and Sheffield, meaning no trains can run.

Train operators TransPennine Express and Northern are among those affected by the severe weather, with many services cancelled.

Merseyrail, which runs train services in Merseyside and surrounding areas, has said its operations would not start until around 10am on Friday due to severe weather.

The operator said: “Poor weather conditions means Merseyrail service is currently suspended until approximately 10am. Merseyrail have been unable to source any replacement buses due to the severe weather.”

Heavy snowfall overnight has left drivers on the M62 motorway in Greater Manchester and Yorkshire stranded for more than seven hours.

National Highways North-West estimated at one point congestion on the eastbound carriageway between Rochdale and Saddleworth stretched to around eight miles.

Derbyshire Constabulary has urged drivers not to travel in the Peak District on Friday morning “unless absolutely necessary” as most roads in the High Peak and Derbyshire Dales areas were “impassable”. The force said it is working with mountain rescue teams to respond to reports of stranded vehicles.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland also warned people to only travel if their journey is essential.

The majority of flights departing from Liverpool John Lennon Airport were delayed on Friday morning due to heavy snow. Passengers are advised to check with airlines for the latest information on flights.

The airport said: “Heavy snow falls this morning have impacted on flights in and out of the airport. Our teams are continuing to clear the snow so we can be fully operational again soon but please check the status of flights with your airline if travelling today.”

The Met Office still has several weather warnings in place for snow and ice, including two amber warnings covering northern England and the Midlands until midday and Wales until 9am.

Four yellow warnings for snow also cover much of the rest of the nation, with the exception of south-east England and western Scotland.

Drivers have been blamed for exacerbating disruption on the roads caused by heavy snow.

Greater Manchester Police said ploughing and gritting on the M62 was “severely delayed” by motorists illegally using the hard shoulder and closed lanes, while the RAC said “the situation was made worse” by drivers overtaking other vehicles and getting stuck in fresh snow.

National Highways said it was “well prepared” for the conditions and had deployed gritters for the past week. But some vehicles heading east across the Pennines from Greater Manchester on the M62 overnight were stranded for more than seven hours due to the conditions.

GMP’s traffic officers posted a message on Twitter which said: “(We are) doing our best, but ploughing/gritting have been severely delayed due to the hard shoulder and red X lanes being blocked by some drivers illegally using them.”