UK weather: New weather warnings issued amid major travel disruption as rail strikes continue
More snow and ice is on the way for many parts of the UK after the record for the coldest night of the year so far was broken for the second night in a row.
The Met Office has extended a yellow warning for snow and ice covering northern Scotland and North East England until midday on Friday.
It comes as the body of a woman in Shetland, Scotland, was found on Tuesday following severe snowfall in the region, though it is not yet known if her death was related to the weather.
The areas covered by the warning could get up to 10cms of fresh snow on higher ground, Met Office spokesperson Becky White said.
“We could see a good few new centimetres of snow accumulation,” she said.
“We could see around 1-4cms at lower levels and 5-10cm on higher ground across the Highlands.”
Snow and ice warnings are also in place in the South West from 6pm on Tuesday until 10am Wednesday, with Ms White saying there will be a “risk of ice across the country over the next few days, but particularly tonight”.
“There is a band of rain moving in from the South West, but it may turn into snow as it reaches land,” she added.
Check the forecast in your area
Forecasters predict the South West could be hit with 1-2cm of snow at lower levels, and 1-10cm of snow at higher ground such as Dartmoor and Exmoor.
An ice warning has been issued for eastern England from 3pm on Tuesday until midday on Wednesday.
The Met Office has also put a yellow ice warning in place for northern parts of Northern Ireland, including Belfast and Londonderry from midday on Tuesday until midday on Wednesday.
Braemer in Aberdeenshire was the coldest place in the whole of the UK on Tuesday night, with temperatures dipping to -17.3C, breaking Monday’s record of -15.7C.
A man walks with a baby in Braemar, Scotland
Dozens of schools were forced to close across the country for a second day due to the freezing weather as many reported heating failure, burst pipes and snow and ice.
In Shetland, power outages due to severe snowfall have been declared a major incident by the Scottish government.
Justice Secretary Keith Brown, lead minister for resilience, said that while the Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) is making every effort to restore supplies, “it is clear that many properties will face days without power”.
Late on Tuesday, Police Scotland issued a statement saying they had discovered the body of a woman “near to an outbuilding in the Ollaberry area of Shetland at around 1.30pm”.
The force added: “Enquiries into the death are ongoing but it is not believed to be suspicious. A report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.”
Elsewhere, the RAC experienced its biggest day for breakdowns on record, with around 12,000 drivers needing assistance.
Drivers have been urged to use main roads “as much as possible” as icy roads are “the biggest problem for drivers”.
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said motorists are “slipping and sliding” as sub-zero temperatures have frozen snow and uncleared ice.
He advised drivers to use main roads “as much as possible” and added: “Slow and steady is the only option when driving on frozen roads.”
Travel disruption
Travel disruption also continued on Tuesday as icy roads made conditions difficult.
The Met Office warned motorists there would be icy stretches on untreated roads, pavements, and cycle paths due to the thawing of snow left over from Monday.
Cars negotiate Winnats Pass in the Peak District as snow and ice swept across parts of the UK
After drivers were left stranded on the M25, Transport Secretary Mark Harper defended the response of the highways authorities to the cold snap.
He said that National Highways staff had been working “incredibly hard” to keep the roads moving.
And the cold snap hasn’t just affected travel on the ground. A total of 233 departures from UK airports were cancelled amid wintry conditions on Monday, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Stansted was the worst affected airport, with 78 flights cancelled.
Rail strikes
Weather-related travel disruption was also followed by the first of a wave of train strikes on Tuesday.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union are going ahead with two 48-hour strikes at Network Rail, and 14 train companies, from Tuesday and Friday.
Trains will only run from 7.30am to 6.30pm on this week’s strike days, while many parts of the country will have no services, including most of Scotland and Wales.
Read more:
Strikes every day before Christmas – which sectors are affected and why
A woman pulls a shopping trolley in a snow covered residential area in Leytonstone, London. Pic: AP
The strike has also caused disruption across the London Underground, with the Bakerloo line part suspended between Harrow & Wealdstone to Queens Park due to the rail strike.
Meanwhile, police confirmed on Monday that three boys aged eight, 10 and 11 died after falling through ice into Babbs Mill Lake in Solihull.
A fourth boy, aged six, remains in a critical condition after the incident on Sunday afternoon.
Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
Read more:
Sky’s Beth Rigby running marathon in honour of ‘dearest friend’
Badenoch does not rule out local coalitions with Reform
Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway