England is a big place, and weather varied - Is it snowing?

 

“Severe weather alert for England as heavy snowfalls expected

Blizzards expected as Met Office issues amber alert for most of England, as Scotland and Wales remain on yellow alert

Damien Pearse

guardian.co.uk, Saturday 4 February 2012 06.22 EST

Most areas of England and Wales are expected to see heavy snowfall on Saturday, with a severe weather alert in place as daytime temperatures look set to plunge as low as -9 C.

An amber warning – the second highest level – was issued by the Met Office, with snowfalls of up to 15cm expected over most of England, particularly in the east.

Sub-zero temperatures are expected in much of the country, with the Midlands likely to hit minus 9 by late afternoon.

Overnight, temperatures fell to a low of -12C in Benson, Oxfordshire.

Met Office forecaster Steve Randall said average snowfall would be between 4 - 8cm (1.5 - 3.5in), including in London, but some easterly parts and high areas could expect 15cm. "There is a band of rain moving eastwards and this will turn to snow and sleet," he said.

The rain, sleet and snow will be replaced by dry and frosty weather overnight with black ice expected to be an additional hazard in many areas. The north and west of England, together with Wales and western Scotland can expect rain instead of snow, and milder temperatures.

The amber alert applies to Yorkshire and Humber, the West Midlands, east Midlands, east and south-west England, as well as London and south-east England, and north-west England. A yellow alert, which warns people to "be aware", was in place for parts of Scotland, Wales and north-west England.

The deep freeze has seen daytime temperatures plummet four or five degrees lower than average for February – traditionally the coldest month of the year.

The Department for Transport salt stocks across Britain stood at more than 2.4m tonnes – a million more than last year. The AA said its patrols attended around double the usual number of breakdowns on Friday.

A spokesman for the Local Government Association (LGA) said council staff and volunteers would be checking to see whether vulnerable people were cared for, and residents were also being encouraged to call in on elderly neighbours.

"Motorists are being advised to check the latest weather and gritting updates on council websites and 'gritter Twitter' feeds, as well as refresh themselves on winter driving guidance and what to stock in their car," he said.

British Gas said it had received more than 200,000 calls in the last five days, compared with 120,000 to 140,000 during a normal winter week.

A string of sporting events have also fallen victim to the icy conditions with Portsmouth's home match against Hull City becoming the first Championship fixture cancelled due to a frozen pitch. Several matches in the lower leagues had already been called off.

Racing was also heavily hit, with the Saturday meeting at Ffos Las scrapped, while Sandown and Wetherby were cancelled on Friday.

Sunday's meeting at Kempton will be subject to an inspection because of the threat of overnight snow. But swimmers were not deterred by ice on the Serpentine in London's Hyde Park and gritted their teeth as they plunged into its chilly waters.”