UK weather: ‘Scandinavian high’ warning as snow hits parts of UK and temperatures fall to as low as -6C
Snow has hit parts of the country – with the spell of cold weather set to continue as an area of high pressure over Scandinavia brings freezing winds to the UK.
Temperatures dipped as low as -6C on Sunday night, with snowfall seen across Northumberland and County Durham.
Light snowfall in Carrshield in Northumberland. Pic: PA
Chilly and wet conditions will linger over most of Britain during the coming week, the Met Office said.
Temperatures may be slightly warmer with highs of 6C – but forecasters said it will feel close to freezing in the easterly winds.
Rain, drizzle and some sleet will continue to fall today and tomorrow, while snow is forecast in hilly areas.
Get the weather forecast where you are
A plough clears the snow near Nenthead in Northumberland.
Pic: PA
Slightly drier weather is expected by the middle of this week, but temperatures will still be around two degrees lower than the February average.
Weather fronts will push in from the southwest later in the week, bringing a risk of patchy rain, but that is likely to be contained to western parts of Cornwall and Ireland.
The Met Office said the bitterly cold weather is due to a “Scandinavian high”.
“[It] is continuing to feed in this easterly wind across the UK. Because that is coming in from the North Sea, it’s filtering in a lot of moisture and we are seeing a lot of cloud kick off this new week,” Met Office meteorologist Jonathan Vautrey said.
“It will also be bringing some outbreaks of rain and drizzle, [which] will be falling as snow over hills… the Pennines today could see several centimetres building up.
“Parts of the west, particularly northwestern Scotland, will see some sunshine around and it will be more of a pleasant day here.
“But temperatures for most of us are going to be struggling around 5C to 6C – once we add to the strength of that easterly wind, it’s going to feel even colder than that – closer to freezing for the vast majority of us,” he said.
‘Grey, dull, gloomy’
“It really will be quite bitter out there, particularly in the exposed eastern coastal districts,” Mr Vautrey said.
“This is going to continue into [Monday] night. Those showers and outbreaks of rain [will continue] to spread their way in from the North Sea.
“Temperatures could drop off a touch more and there will be some patchy frost around during the night and into the start of Tuesday. Maybe still some localised icy stretches where surfaces are left untreated.
“We could potentially see longer spells of rain moving into southeastern England on Tuesday. It’s going to be another grey, dull, gloomy, day. A lot of clouds on the scene.
“Temperatures still rather struggling… 5C or 6C. The winds should ease off a little bit for parts of Wales, and central and southern England but it really is still going to have quite a keen breeze across Scotland into parts of northern England and Northern Ireland as well – so another very cold day to come.”
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A yellow cold health alert has been issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) for the southeast of England and parts of northern England and remains in place until 9am on Tuesday.
Around 1,500 without power after Eowyn
Meanwhile, more than 1,000 people remain cut off from electricity more than two weeks after Storm Eowyn’s record-breaking winds hit Ireland.
Power has been restored to 766,500 homes, farms, schools and businesses but some 1,500 remain without supply.
Amid the reconnection efforts, scam text messages are purporting to come from ESB Networks.
The National Cyber Security Centre warned members of the public to exercise caution when receiving messages from unknown numbers, and said government departments, agencies and banks will never text asking unexpectedly for bank details.
Uisce Eireann said it is also working to return service to the “final few” customers without water.
Elsewhere, emergency response hubs are assisting people with basic needs such as water, hot food, phone charging, broadband access and shower facilities.
The hubs are also operating study rooms for exam-year students.
UK
Teenager living in ‘continuous pain’ after surgeon Dr Yaser Jabbar carried out ‘inappropriate’ operations
A 15-year-old boy who was operated on twice by a now unlicensed Great Ormond Street surgeon is living with “continuous” pain.
Finias Sandu has been told by an independent review the procedures he underwent on both his legs were “unacceptable” and “inappropriate” for his age.
The teenager from Essex was born with a condition that causes curved bones in his legs.
Aged seven, a reconstructive procedure was carried out on Finias’s left leg, lengthening the limb by 3.5cm.
A few years later, the same operation was carried out on his right leg which involved wearing an invasive and heavy metal frame for months.
He has now been told by independent experts these procedures should not have taken place and concerns have been raised over a lack of imaging being taken prior to the operations.
Yaser Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence last year. Pic: LinkedIn
His doctor at London’s prestigious Great Ormond Street Hospital was former consultant orthopaedic surgeon Yaser Jabbar. Sky News has spoken to others he treated.
Mr Jabbar also did not arrange for updated scans or for relevant X-rays to be conducted ahead of the procedures.
The surgeries have been found to have caused Finias “harm” and left him in constant pain.
“The pain is there every day, every day I’m continuously in pain,” he told Sky News.
“It’s not something really sharp, although it does get to a certain point where it hurts quite a lot, but it’s always there. It just doesn’t leave, it’s a companion to me, just always there.”
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Finias’s surgery pictures
Care of over 700 patients being assessed
Mr Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence in January last year after working at Great Ormond Street between 2017 and 2022.
The care of his 700-plus patients is being assessed, with some facing corrective surgery, among them Finias.
“Trusting somebody is hard to do, knowing what they have done to me physically and emotionally, you know, it’s just too much to comprehend for me,” he said.
“It wasn’t something just physically, like my leg pain and everything else. It was emotionally, because I put my trust in that specific doctor. My parents and I don’t really understand the more scientific terms, we just went by what he said.”
Doctors refused to treat Finias because of his surgeries
Finias and his family relocated to their native Romania soon after the reconstructive frame was removed from his right leg in the summer of 2021.
The pain worsened and they sought advice from doctors in Romania, who refused to treat Finias because of the impact of his surgeries.
Dozens of families seeking legal claims
His mother Cornelia Sandu is “furious” and feels her trust in the hospital has been shattered. They are now among dozens of families seeking legal claims.
Cyrus Plaza from Hudgell Solicitors is representing the family. He said: “In cases where it has been identified that harm was caused, we want to see Great Ormond Street Hospital agreeing to pay interim payments of compensation for the children, so that if they need therapy or treatment now, they can access it.”
Finias is accessing therapy and mental health support as he prepares for corrective surgery later in the year.
A spokesperson for Great Ormond Street Hospital told Sky News: “We are deeply sorry to Finias and his family, and all the patients and families who have been impacted.
“We want every patient and family who comes to our hospital to feel safe and cared for. We will always discuss concerns families may have and, where they submit claims, we will work to ensure the legal process can be resolved as quickly as possible.”
Finias with his mother and sister
Service not ‘safe for patients’
Sky News has attempted to contact Mr Jabbar.
An external review into the wider orthopaedic department at the hospital began in September 2022.
It was commissioned after the Royal College of Surgeons warned the hospital’s lower limb reconstruction service was not “safe for patients or adequate to meet demand”.
The investigation is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Sir Keir Starmer has said closer ties with the EU will be good for the UK’s jobs, bills and borders ahead of a summit where he could announce a deal with the bloc.
The government is set to host EU leaders in London on Monday as part of its efforts to “reset” relations post-Brexit.
A deal granting the UK access to a major EU defence fund could be on the table, according to reports – but disagreements over a youth mobility scheme and fishing rights could prove to be a stumbling block.
The prime minister has appeared to signal a youth mobility deal could be possible, telling The Times that while freedom of movement is a “red line”, youth mobility does not come under this.
His comment comes after Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said on Friday work on a defence deal was progressing but “we’re not there yet”.
Sir Keir met European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen later that day while at a summit in Albania.
Ursula von der Leyen and Sir Keir had a brief meeting earlier this week. Pic: PA
If agreed, the deal will be the third in two weeks, following trade agreements with India and the US.
Sir Keir said: “First India, then the United States – in the last two weeks alone that’s jobs saved, faster growth and wages rising.
“More money in the pockets of British working people, achieved through striking deals not striking poses.
“Tomorrow, we take another step forward, with yet more benefits for the United Kingdom as the result of a strengthened partnership with the European Union.”
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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said she is “worried” about what the PM might have negotiated.
Ms Badenoch – who has promised to rip up the deal with the EU if it breaches her red lines on Brexit – said: “Labour should have used this review of our EU trade deal to secure new wins for Britain, such as an EU-wide agreement on Brits using e-gates on the continent.
“Instead, it sounds like we’re giving away our fishing quotas, becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again and getting free movement by the back door. This isn’t a reset, it’s a surrender.”
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