Heavy snow hits parts of the UK as police warn drivers to take care
Heavy snow has hit parts of the UK today, including in the West Midlands and the Cotswolds, as police warned people to take care due to delays on the roads.
There were reports of snow falling in counties such as Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire as well as in Birmingham and Stourbridge, and lighter dustings as far south as Devon.
Gloucestershire Police tweeted: “Heavy snow is starting to fall in the rural parts of the county. This will cause delays on the roads. Only go out if it is essential to do so.
“We are receiving a number of reports of snow around the county causing disruption, particularly in the Forest of Dean and the A417 around Birdlip. Please stay safe and avoid all unnecessary travel.”
Staffordshire Police also warned of “serious disruption”, with several roads in the area impassable.
Snow and ice warnings remain in place for much of the UK today as a cold snap bites in the aftermath of Storm Bella.
It comes as around 90 flood warnings are still in force in England, along with about 160 less serious flood alerts.
Snow had already fallen in parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland and England, including in the Peak District in Derbyshire, on Sunday.
The Met Office has issued a yellow “be aware” warning for snow and ice on Monday until 6pm in London, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Southampton and West Berkshire, as well as Gloucestershire, Swindon, Wiltshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire.
The warning said: “Further rain, sleet and snow is likely at times this afternoon. For many, this will not settle on roads.
“However, 1 to 3cm is possible in a few places, mainly on high ground above 200 metres where some icy surfaces are also possible. The rain, sleet and snow will clear steadily southwards by early evening.”
The forecasters’ advice warns of the potential for injuries from icy surfaces and delays to trains and road transport.
There has also been a new yellow warning issued for snow and ice covering much of the country from 6pm today to 10am on Tuesday.
The Met Office said: “Ice is likely to form on untreated surfaces during Monday night, especially where showers move well inland.
“Some of the showers will be wintry and could produce 2 to 5cm of lying snow above 250 metres, mostly over the Pennines and North York Moors where up to 10cm is possible.
“Elsewhere, most places will see little or no snow, but a slight covering of a centimetre or so is possible in a few places.”
Large swathes of London, the Midlands, the South, the South West, plus the east of England and Wales have also been warned that snow and ice could hit on Wednesday and Thursday.
The chilly temperatures follow several days of extreme weather over the Christmas period, which saw severe flooding in parts of southern England before Storm Bella arrived on Boxing Day, with winds of more than 100mph.
Sky News weather presenter Isobel Lang said: “There will be wintry showers around eastern and southeastern counties of England, although the area of more persistent wintry weather moving southwards over central, southern and southwest England is more of a concern.
“Some snow is likely through the morning there, especially over Salisbury Plain, the Mendips and the Cotswolds.
“Some places will miss the showers and see some good sunny spells but everywhere will feel cold, particularly in the brisk winds in the west.”
Further into the week and towards the New Year, the Met Office says conditions will remain cold with sunshine and the possibility of wintry showers.
As of 12pm on Monday, 88 flood warnings remained in place across England calling for immediate action as flooding was expected, alongside 162 flood alerts.
Parts of Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire have been badly affected, with some people forced to evacuate their homes due to the floods.
There were also some flood warnings and alerts in Wales.
Courtesy of Sky News
Winter-Like Storm Closes Wyoming Highways, Leaves Thousands Without Power #Snowstorm #PowerOutages #Wyoming #USA
A strong winter-like storm left Wyoming highways closed and thousands of Wyoming residents without power on Tuesday as the weekend’s warm, mild weather was replaced with brisk winds, snow and frigid temperatures.
The storm, the result of moisture coming into Wyoming from the west mixing with cold Arctic air, dropped temperatures from the 90s on Sunday to below freezing by Monday night.
The resulting snow, cold temperatures and brisk winds forced the closure of multiple Wyoming highways by Tuesday morning, including Interstate 80 between Cheyenne and Rawlins and from Evanston to the state border, U.S. Highway 189 north from Evanston to Kemmerer, U.S. Highway 20/26 from Casper to Shoshoni and U.S. Highway 14/16/20 at the eastern entrance to Yellowstone National Park.
The weather also caused power outages across the state. Rocky Mountain Power reported that almost 8,000 of its customers were without power Tuesday morning, most of them in the Rock Springs area.
However, outage maps also showed that people were without power in Green River, Riverton, Lander, Casper, Glendo and Douglas.
Snow from the storm appeared vary widely around the state, ranging from 3 inches in Gillette to 5 inches in Wheatland, 7.5 inches in Story, north of Buffalo and 11 inches in Douglas.
It appeared no schools were forced to close by the storm.
By Tuesday morning, Cheyenne had received less than one-half inch of snow.
The storm forced temperatures far below normal for early September and meteorologist Don Day said the cool, wet weather would continue in the region until at least Wednesday before conditions improve heading into the weekend.
“By Saturday afternoon, we’ve got a nice high pressure ridge returning to the region,” he said in his daily podcast. “It’s not a hot one. But what it will do is bring a return of nice looking, in fact, great looking September weather by the weekend that will probably stretch into all the next week.”
Courtesy of cowboystatedaily.com
Historic Record #Snowfall in #Colorado, #USA
A mammoth winter storm that struck only Monday evening and buried some parts of Colorado under historic record snowfall began to leave the state Tuesday afternoon. It’s headed towards neighboring Nebraska to inflict its snowy misery on the Cornhusker State.
Colorado weathermen, however, are keeping their eyes on a second snowstorm system expected to arrive Friday. They predict a cold and dry Thanksgiving with lots of snow.
Monday’s winter storm dumped historic snowfall on Boulder and Fort Collins, said local TV station CBS4. Weathermen said many areas along the Front Range experienced the most snow in three years. Among these were the community of Drake with 33 inches of snow; Livermore with 32 inches; and Coal Creek Canyon with 30 inches.
Colorado officials reported the highest snow totals took place in the foothills of Boulder and Larimer Counties where snowfall hit 3 feet in some areas. Denver International Airport (DIA) officially reported 7 inches of snow as of 5:00 a.m. Tuesday.
Hundreds of flights to and from DIA were canceled Tuesday as maintenance crews worked feverishly to clear heavy snow from runways. DIA is the largest airport in North America by total land area and the second largest in the world.
More than 1,100 passengers were forced to spend Monday evening at the airport due to the heavy snowstorm, said airport spokeswoman Alex Renteria. She said airport employees handed out blankets, baby formula and diapers to stranded passengers while restaurants stayed open past their usual closing time to serve those stranded.
DIA reported 475 flights cancelled Tuesday. Airport crews deployed snowplows, sand trucks and 20 other types of equipmenty to clear and keep the runways open on Tuesday.
Oddly, and despite the snowstorm, most ski areas in Colorado have seen less snow than Denver and the Front Range. Local media said there is still plenty of fresh powder on the mountains ahead of Thanksgiving.
Courtesy of ibtimes.com
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