By Eric King-
Commuters have been urged to get home by 6 pm today as Britain faces widespread travel chaos in the wake of a very cold snap gripping Britain this week. Temperatures as cold as -15C (5F) are cause power cuts and hit mobile phone networks.
Several inches of snow fell over much of the UK on Monday morning, with more expected to fall over eastern England by Wednesday as the ‘Beast from the East’ sweeps in from Russia . Health officials have issued urgent warnings to the elderly and children to stay warm.
Hundreds of thousands of commuters in the South East traveling home from London to Kent and Sussex have been told to complete their journeys by 6pm tonight before the worst of the snow hits and potentially disrupts trains.
Britain Braces Itself For Snowy Week Ahead
Mr. Avery warned that Britain will be faced with the “Beast of the East” from Monday onwards. He said: “This is the first signs of the cold air surging in from Siberia into the eastern side of the British Isles particularly.
“That’s where we see the threat of the snow showers.”
Met Office forecasters believe there will be “significant” snowfall this week as temperatures in the UK plummet. Weather forecasters don’t have There has been no clarification from Southern East Rail as to why it chose 6pm as the cut-off time. Strong advice by the operator to passengers on Twitter to travel earlier if possible, will get passengers feeling concerned. The suggestion from the operator is that the snow could become heavier.
Severe weather warnings are in place today and for the rest of the week, with a yellow alert – meaning ‘be aware’ – predicting widespread snow showers across nearly the whole country tomorrow and on Wednesday.
always get it right, but are right most of the time, especially in predicting the onset of snow amid very cold conditions.
The Met Office has therefore proceeded to issue yellow weather warnings for snow for most of the east of the UK next week.
Motorists have been urged to be extra alert and conscious of the potentially harmful effect weather conditions could have on UK travel throughout the UK.
Green Flag Spokesman Simon Henrick has urged motorists to make sure cars are ready for the wintery conditions before starting their journeys next week.
Mr Henrick said:
“We expect 110,000 breakdowns will occur on Britain’s roads next week.”
Breakdown service AA has also issued advice on how to beat the Siberian freeze.
AA spokesman Vince Crane said:
“A well-maintained car should cope well with the cold but sub-zero temperatures always bring a big increase in the number of cars that won’t start, thanks to tired batteries.“Electrical and tyre problems are the top two reasons for Members to call for help – and harsh winter weather makes such problems even more likely.”
The assumption if the past is anything to go by, is that once we get past the first week of March, we can expect to enjoy better weather. The Uk sometimes enjoys spells of sunny weather in March which fluctuates, with some days colder and others even wet. No month of March is ever exactly the same, but nice sunny weather usually turns up without notice for a few days or weekends at a time, brightening our moods as we anticipate summer down the road. Once we get past April showers in April, we can look forward to a hot or disappointing May, depending on how the month turns out. In the meantime, we must wrap up warm and restrict our exposure to the cold until we ride this February month, known to be a wintery one.
Tuesday is also expected to bring persistent snow as the weather worsens, turning into the coldest start to March for more than 30 years, after temperatures of just -9.2C (15F) was recorded in Scotland over the weekend.