UK weather: Snow on the way as amber cold-health alert issued for parts of England

The Met Office has issued new weather warnings – and said that snow showers are on the way that could turn “quite heavy” tomorrow.

A yellow warning will come into force at 4am on Monday which states ice and snow are likely to affect roads and train services in parts of Greater London, Kent, Surrey, East Sussex and West Sussex.

Meanwhile, an amber cold-health alert has been issued by the Met Office and the UK Health Security Agency for the North West of England, West Midlands, East Midlands and South West of England. This will be in place until Friday.

A yellow cold-health alert remains for the North East of England, Yorkshire and the Humber, East of England, South East of England and London for much of next week.

It comes as many parts of the country attempt to recover from the aftermath of Storm Henk, which caused widespread flooding and two deaths, and more than 170 flood warnings remain in place.

See the latest weather forecast for your area

The yellow weather warning states that temperatures will drop to near zero in the early hours of Monday morning as “a mix of sleet and snow showers” moves in, the Met Office has said.

Their forecasters predict that the heaviest snow will fall over the North Downs in Sussex.

The Met Office has warned the public that journeys may take longer on Monday morning. They have urged people to allow extra time, and to try sticking to main roads when walking or cycling.

Sky weather presenter Jo Wheeler said: “At this time of year, clearer conditions with light winds are likely to result in overnight frosts, fog and icy stretches on roads and pavements.

“Today, we’re seeing a cold pool of air moving into southern areas with the potential for overnight showers to fall as sleet or snow over the higher ground.

“With night-time temperatures close to freezing, even in the towns and cities, there’s also a risk of showers falling on frozen surfaces and turning instantly to ice.”

The yellow ice warning expires at 10am on Monday.

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An amber cold-health alert “means cold weather impacts are likely to be felt across the whole health service for an extended period of time, with potential for the whole population to be at risk,” according to the latest announcement.

The UK Health Security Agency has urged anyone with pre-existing medical conditions, or over the age of 65, to be especially cautious of the cold weather and to “heat the rooms where you spend most of your time” in the coming days.

Parts of England are already facing travel problems as rail services between London Paddington, Heathrow Airport and Reading have today faced major disruption.

Damage to overhead wires caused delays of up to an hour, with revised timetables being put in place.

Fears as river levels remain high

A total of 172 flood warnings and 176 flood alerts also remain in place in England, the Environment Agency (EA) has said.

Over 1,800 UK properties have flooded, and the EA has warned that more properties could be flooded in the coming days as river levels remain increased and more rain is forecast.

Debbie Carling, who lives in a cottage by the Thames in Chertsey, told Sky News she is increasingly worried about how high water levels are impacting her family home.

She has lived in the town for 17 years and said three out of four instances of heavy flooding have occurred in the last two years.

In 2014, the basement of her house completely flooded and she has since spent “a considerable amount of money” on an automated system to pump out flood waters.

The system has been pumping nonstop for over a week, she said.

“We’re at the top level now and we need it to start to recede quite quickly,” she added. “We’ve already put a lot of things into storage over the last few days.”

In Somerset, the UK’s oldest lido – Cleveland Pools – is currently closed after flooding. The lido reopened to the public last year after a £9.3m renovation.

Government under pressure after Storm Henk

Storm Henk devastated parts of the country earlier this week and today the government was urged to “wake up and smell the flood water” amid fears climate change is making extreme weather events more common.

The government has unveiled a financial package for eligible areas of the UK that have faced exceptional localised flooding.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has travelled to Oxfordshire to meet members of the public who have been affected.

He spoke to people on their doorsteps before meeting Environment Agency workers at a depot near a road which remains flooded.

Speaking to the media next to the River Thames, Mr Sunak said: “Flooding has been having a devastating impact on communities up and down the country.

“I was in the East Midlands last week and I’m in Oxfordshire here today talking to some of those that have been affected, but also saying thank you to our first responders who were doing a fantastic job over the past week.

“We have over 1,000 Environment Agency personnel on the ground in local communities helping, over 200 pumps have been deployed.

“We’ve invested £5.2 billion in flood defences over the period in question, that’s a record sum, far more than we’ve done (previously), in the future that’s contributed to protecting over 300,000 homes.

“And, of course, there have been many people affected by what’s happened over the past week, but also over 49,000 have been affected by flooding.”