UK weather: ‘Treacherous conditions’ wreak havoc on travel – with more blizzards on the way
“Hundreds and hundreds” of stranded drivers have been stuck in “never-ending” miles-long tailbacks overnight in heavy snow – and forecasters say blizzards are on the way and will cause “treacherous conditions”.
Travellers have been warned of train and flight cancellations, while the Met Office says the cold snap is moving south, as Storm Larisa continues to batter the country.
Icy surfaces are also likely to develop, it warns, with snow drifts bringing “extra hazards” to the roads.
The Met Office said the greatest depth of snow recorded was 27cm at Capel Curig in North Wales.
Four yellow warnings for snow covered much of the rest of the nation, with the exception of southeast England and western Scotland.
Heavy snowfall left drivers stranded for more than seven hours on the M62 motorway in Greater Manchester and Yorkshire.
RAC breakdown spokesman Rod Dennis said the situation on the M62 was likely to have been caused by a large amount of snow falling in a short period.
Greater Manchester Police traffic officers said on Friday morning that ploughing and gritting on the motorway had been severely delayed due to drivers illegally using the hard shoulder and red X lanes.
National Highways North-West estimated that congestion on the eastbound carriageway, between Rochdale and Saddleworth, at one point stretched to around eight miles.
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Heavy snow brings treacherous conditions as people are urged not to travel
One driver, Kelly, told Sky News earlier this morning: “We’ve been stuck now for six hours.”
Asked how many other motorists were on the road and how long the queue was, she said: “There’s, I would say hundreds and hundreds and hundreds. It goes back for 16 miles, I think, one way, and I have no idea how far ahead it goes.
“We have managed to keep the heaters on… I have got my 15-year-old son here with me. I think he thought I was being dramatic, but I was like, we need to take blankets, we need to take coats, just in case, so we were well prepared.”
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Driver stuck on M62 in Lancashire for six hours
Emma Hamilton, 28, who works for the NHS and is from Yorkshire, said she had been stuck for eight hours travelling from Manchester. She said: “It honestly feels never-ending at this point.”
Public transport has also been affected, with Network Rail saying multiple fallen trees have blocked lines between Manchester and Sheffield, meaning no trains can run.
Air travel was also affected with the majority of flights departing Liverpool John Lennon Airport delayed on Friday morning due to “heavy snow falls”, with passengers urged to check with their airlines for further updates.
East Midlands Airport was shut for around three hours while flights were suspended at Birmingham Airport to clear snow from the runway and there were also delays at Bristol Airport.
When will the cold snap end?
The weather is expected to clear by the end of Friday, before then being replaced by another low pressure system.
Met Office chief forecaster Jason Kelly said: “The worst of the snowfall in England is over for now, but further weather warnings will be in force to cover the further hazards brought by frost and ice.”
The agency has issued a number of yellow weather warnings for snow and ice:
• Two ice alerts – one covering parts of Northern Ireland and another across southern Scotland, northern and eastern England, parts of the Midlands and large parts of Wales – are in place until 10am on Saturday
• An alert for snow and ice covering large swathes of Scotland is in place until 9am on Saturday
• Another snow and ice warning issued from 3pm on Saturday until 6am on Sunday – across northern England and southern Scotland
Meteorologist Alex Deakin said next week could bring a “continued battleground” between colder conditions and milder air pushing in from the Atlantic.
He added there will be “colder interludes” and the “potential for further snow” next week. It isn’t unusual for the country to experience a cold snap in spring, when conditions are often “highly variable”.
Statistically, the UK is marginally more likely to get snow in March than in December, the Met Office said.
‘Gusts of 50mph’ and ‘treacherous conditions’
Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said the worst of the weather was expected in northwest Wales and northern England, where “gusts of easily 50mph” are on a collision course with “30 to 40cm of snow”.
A pocket of western Scotland covering Glasgow and the county of Argyll is thought to be the only region untouched by deluges and snowfall.
People living in southern England are expected to bear the brunt of the downpours.
Mr Burkill said: “The combination of heavy snow and gales is why we’re likely to see blizzards and drifting snow which causes extra hazards on the roads.
“In places covered by amber warnings, there will be very difficult, treacherous conditions.
“Ideally, avoid travelling in those periods – but if you have to head out then be aware that journeys could take significantly longer.”
Pic: Cheshire East Council Highways
Travel warnings
The RAC on Friday said it has seen a sharp rise in drivers stranded in the snow in Yorkshire – particularly Sheffield, Leeds, Bradford and Hull.
Breakdowns volumes are also very high in the East Midlands and north of London, as motorists attempt to start their vehicles.
The A53 between Leek and Buxton on the Derbyshire/Staffordshire border, where the speed limit is usually 50mph
Derbyshire Constabulary 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”.
Parts of the A66 in Durham and the A628 Woodhead Pass in South Yorkshire were also shut overnight due to heavy snowfall.
A manhunt for a second and third prisoner who were released in error has put further pressure on Justice Secretary David Lammy.
Last month Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, who was serving a 12-month prison sentence for sexual assault, was released in error when he should have been deported.
The Ethiopian national, who came to the UK on a small boat in the summer, spent roughly 48 hours at large before being apprehended in north London and deported.
But it emerged on Wednesday that within days of Kebatu’s mistaken release from HMP Chelmsford, HMP Wandsworth also mistakenly released prisoner Brahim Kaddour-Cherif.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed to Sky News: “Shortly after 1pm on Tuesday 4 November, the Met was informed by the Prison Service that a prisoner had been released in error from HMP Wandsworth on Wednesday 29 October.
“The prisoner is a 24-year-old Algerian man.
“Officers are carrying out urgent enquiries in an effort to locate him and return him to custody.”
The same day Surrey Police put out a public appeal to locate fraudster William Smith, 35, who was also released in error from HMP Wandsworth on 3 November. He had been sentenced to 45 months in prison that day.
Mr Lammy, who was recently appointed justice secretary, is under renewed political pressure.
Hadush Kebatu, jailed for two sexual assaults in Epping. Pic: Essex Police / PA
How many prisoners are released in error?
According to government statistics published in July, 262 prisoners were released in error in the 12 months to March 2025 – a 128% increase from 115 the previous year.
The report states: “Of the 262 releases in error, 233 of these releases in error occurred from prison establishments, while 29 were released in error at the courts.
“Releases in error from establishments could also be a result of errors by the court.”
This is out of a total prison population across England and Wales of roughly 86,000.
Sky News has contacted the HM Prison & Probation Service to know how many of the 262 prisoners have since been found and returned to custody.
In September 2024, Sky News reported how dozens of people released from jail under the government’s emergency prison scheme were freed by mistake.
The Labour government said it was forced to release hundreds of inmates early because prisons were at capacity.
William Fernandez. Pic: PA
Kebatu was due to be deported when he was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford.
Previous high-profile manhunts
William Fernandez, who was awaiting trial for sexual assault, was released from HMP Wormwood by error in March 2021. He then went on to rape a 16-year-old girl and sexually assault a young woman.
Joseph McCann. Pic: Police handout
In December 2019, the prisons and probation service “apologised unreservedly” after serial rapist Joseph McCann was freed to commit a series of sex attacks on women and children.
In July 2017, an inmate who was released from prison just months into a nine-year sentence due to a “clerical error” was arrested after weeks on the run.
A man who arrived on a small boat has been sent back to France for the second time in less than two months.
The Iranian man came to the UK on a small boat on 6 August and was initially sent back to France on 19 September, before returning to the UK on a small boat on 18 October.
He has been flown back again as part of the latest tranche of 19 returnees under the “one in, one out” agreement with France.
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The Iranian man told The Guardian he had been a victim of modern slavery at the hands of people smugglers in northern France.
As part of the one in, one out agreement, which came into play in August, 94 migrants who came to the UK illegally on small boats have now been removed.
In return, a total of 57 approved asylum seekers have been brought to the UK.
The man came to the UK twice on a small boat. File pic
Although the UK has sent back more migrants than it has accepted, the two countries have committed to exchange an equal number of people in each direction.
The end of October saw more migrants having crossed the Channel in 2025 than the entirety of 2024.
Read more:
Manhunt after foreign prisoner mistakenly released from prison
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “Anyone looking to return to the UK after being removed under the UK-France agreement is wasting their time and money.
“This individual was detected by biometrics and detained instantly. His case was expedited, and now he has been removed again.
“My message is clear: if you try to return to the UK you will be sent back. I will do whatever it takes to scale up removals of illegal migrants and secure our borders.”
Fire crews have been tackling a major incident after flooding hit parts of southwest Wales overnight, with people trapped in their homes and vehicles.
Joint Fire Control (JFC), which includes South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, received more than 450 calls within a 12-hour period, mainly in Carmarthenshire, according to Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service (MAWWFRS).
Forty-eight people were rescued from a care home, more than 40 people were helped to safety from flooded homes, three people were rescued from a vehicle trapped in fast-flowing water, and more than 30 dogs were saved from flood-affected kennels at a shelter.
A major incident was declared after flooding at a retirement complex in Whitland in the early hours of Wednesday. At 1.35am, crews were deployed to rescue 48 people using “rescue sleds and water rescue equipment,” MAWWFRS said in a statement.
Pic: MAWWFRS
Three people were trapped in a vehicle in fast-flowing water. Pic: MAWWFRS
Earlier on Tuesday, in the remote village of Ffarmers, fire teams rescued three people and their two dogs who were stuck in a vehicle situated in fast-flowing water.
Fire chiefs said crews used extension ladders to reach the vehicle.
Two further incidents on Tuesday evening involved people being rescued from flooded properties in Ferryside.
Around 42 more people were rescued in nearby St Clears, where about 20 domestic and commercial properties were flooded.
Flood warnings and alerts have been in force across Wales. Pic: Natural Resources Wales
Later the same evening, crews were involved in an operation at Glanrhyd Dog Sanctuary, Kidwelly. Boats were used to evacuated dogs from a shelter which was ruined in the floods.
Owner Alison Clark told Sky News she was “broken beyond belief”.
Crews transported animals from Glanrhyd Dog Sanctuary, Kidwelly, to safety. Pic: MAWWFRS
All the dogs were rescued. Pic: MAWWFRS
“It’s devastating. Everything ruined or lost in the current. All white goods… freezers etc along with dog food, bedding and leads etc.
“We spent 80k on this move to make the sanctuary one of the best and now it is ruined.
“I’m broken beyond belief. My only saving grace is that I kept every dog alive.”
Among the rivers placed on flood warning – where flooding is expected – were the River Towy around Camarthen and between Llandeilo and Abergwili, the River Ritec at Tenby, the River Cynin at St Clears, the River Taf at Whitland and the River Teifi at Llechryd and Cenarth.
Carmarthenshire County Council said a rest centre has been set up in Carmarthen Leisure Centre for those suffering the “severe impact” of flooding in the Whitland and St Clears areas.
Seven schools were closed on Wednesday in the county and the council also confirmed multiple road closures were in place due to flooding or road conditions.
Read more from Sky News:
Manhunt for prisoner wrongly released
Migrant sent back to France for second time
Craig Flannery, Assistant Chief Fire Officer at MAWWFRS, said the rescues were “prolonged and challenging”.
“I have personally witnessed the dedication and professionalism of our staff dealing with multiple calls over a prolonged period, as well as the courageous efforts of our operational crews responding to these incidents across our Service area,” he said.
“Our crews have been truly exceptional in assisting and protecting our communities.
“We are also extremely grateful to all partner agencies who have assisted in responding to incidents during a prolonged and challenging period.”
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