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.
A workman saved a seven-year-old boy from a burning car in the aftermath of a deadly crash caused by a suicidal ex-pilot, an inquest has heard.
The schoolboy’s rescue came following the collision on the M6, which killed former RAF man Richard Woods and four others, in October last year.
Last week a coroner ruled that Woods, 40, took his own life by deliberately driving his Skoda the wrong way down the motorway while drunk and hitting a Toyota Yaris head-on.
The driver of the Toyota, Jaroslaw Rossa, 42, was also killed, along with his two sons, Filip, 15, and Dominic, seven, and his partner Jade McEnroe, 33.
Cockermouth Coroner’s Court heard on Thursday that Ms McEnroe’s son was also in the car but survived after workman Gavin Walsh came to his rescue at the scene, which was near Tebay services in Cumbria.
In a statement to the inquest, Mr Walsh said he was a passenger in a transit van travelling to Scotland when he witnessed the crash.
He jumped out of the vehicle and used a jack to smash the rear windscreen of the Toyota and pulled the boy out of the burning vehicle.
Mr Walsh said: “We really did try, I can assure everyone we did our best. We only had minimal time.
“I saved a life that day and I hope never to witness anything like that again.”
He added that he has never stopped thinking about the boy, and said: “I hope we will meet again one day and I will give you a massive hug.”
At the time, the family were returning to Glasgow from a trip to Legoland in Windsor, Berkshire.
The inquest heard that Wood, who was travelling at a speed of at least 65mph, would have been charged with manslaughter had he survived.
Recording conclusions of unlawful killing, Cumbria assistant coroner Margaret Taylor said: “I found that Jaroslaw, Jade, Filip and Dominic died as a consequence of the unlawful acts of another driver.”
The inquest heard how Mr Woods, from Cambridgeshire, had served a distinguished 14-year career in the RAF and was a flight instructor for BAE Systems at the time of his death.
Jade McEnroe. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
Dominic and Filip. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
In Ms Taylor’s record of inquest, Mr Woods was said to have been experiencing “a number of stressors in his life” and had a “history of harmful use of alcohol”.
Following the crash, he was found to be nearly four times over the legal drink-drive limit and a two-thirds empty bottle of gin was found in his car.
On the day of his death, concerns had been raised over his behaviour at a work conference near Preston in Lancashire.
Mr Woods failed to return to his seat after lunch and was later spotted driving erratically and swerving across three northbound carriageway lanes on the M6.
After pulling onto the hard shoulder, he then proceeded to U-turn and drove southward on lane three.
Filip, Dominic and Jaroslaw Rossa. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
Detective Sergeant Deborah Story, from Cumbria Police, told the inquest that Mr Woods would have been prosecuted on four counts of manslaughter had he lived.
She said hypothetical charges of murder were considered by detectives but not thought appropriate because of a lack of information that Mr Woods knew the family or anything that provided a link between them.
Ms McEnroe’s parents, Marie McEnroe and George McNellis, told the coroner they thought it was “murder”.
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A statement from the mother of Filip and Dominic, and the ex-wife of Mr Rossa, Kamila, was read out at the inquest.
She said Mr Rossa, known as Jarek, was born in Poland where they became a couple and went on to have three boys.
He loved playing computer games and had “lots of friends”, she said, and worked at the Wagamama restaurant in Silverburn, Glasgow.
She said she was “devastated” over the deaths, adding: “Our lives will never be the same.
“I am heartbroken at the passing of my beloved angels Filip and Dominic.”
Marie McEnroe said her daughter, a spa therapist, had been in a relationship with Mr Rossa for about two-and-a-half years.
She said Jade had been a “brilliant mother” to her only child, was “really happy” with Mr Rossa and it was “lovely chaos” when all the boys were playing together.
Ms McEnroe added: “Life changed forever that day”.
Ms Taylor praised the “selfless acts of bravery” from those in the aftermath of the collision, including Mr Walsh, who she said went towards the burning car “without hesitation for his own safety”.
The coroner added: “Without his swift response, Jade’s child would also have perished.”
Addressing the bereaved family members, she said: “Your loss is unimaginable but you have conducted yourself with dignity and I thank you for that. I wish you strength for the future.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
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