UK weather: ‘Significant’ snow forces cars to crawl and delays trains after amber alert – with more warnings to come

Drivers and commuters faced delays and cancellations after the UK was hit by snow and wind in an icy blast.

Snowy conditions have been reported across the south of England on Wednesday, with the Met Office issuing an amber warning for snow in the southwest earlier.

Videos show that across Sussex and the southwest, cars have been forced to a crawl by snow and ice.

One post on social media showed that a driver had veered off into a hedge on the A27 near Devils Dyke.

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According to National Highways, congestion to the north of Brighton – on the A27 eastbound between the A23 and the junction with the A26 South – caused delays of up to 40 minutes during the wintry weather.

And further along the A23 – southbound between the A2300 and the junction with the A27 – delays lasted up to one hour over normal conditions.

National Highways also said the A38 westbound between the A380 and the junction with the A382, just south of Exeter in Devon, had experienced delays over an hour and a half.

Meanwhile, Trainline also said that Southern trains running from Haywards Heath to Brighton and Eastbourne will be disrupted into the evening in part because of “a significant amount of snow”.

Southern added in the statement: “Significant snowfall in the area means that we are unable to stop trains at Cooksbridge or Plumpton until further notice.”

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National Rail said on its website that poor weather affected services for Great Western Railway, Northern, and Merseyrail.

It comes after the Met Office warned areas under the amber warning – which lasted until 9pm on Wednesday – were likely to see travel delays and snow “stranding some vehicles and passengers”.

There was also a yellow weather warning for snow covering the southern counties of England until midnight on Wednesday.

This week is expected to see the coldest nights of the year, with temperatures potentially reaching -14C on Wednesday night and -16C on Thursday night, both in the North East of England and Scotland, the Met Office said.

Yellow Met Office weather warnings for snow and ice cover parts of southwest England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland on Thursday.

There is also a fog weather warning covering much of Northern Ireland.