Unexpected snowfall brings areas in Britain to a standstill

In several regions of the UK traffic was brought to a standstill over the weekend due to heavy snowfall – at times with accumulations of as much as 5cm in an hour.

The Met Office issued severe weather warnings for most of South East England, as well as the east of the country, the East Midlands and Yorkshire, with the heavy snows and temperatures below freezing raising major concerns about chaos on the roads.

Aberdeen experienced the heaviest snowfall, with 14cm falling over Saturday and Sunday.

In England, Lincolnshire and Norfolk were the most seriously affected, with 5cm having fallen in just one hour.

Rural Oxfordshire reported the lowest weekend temperatures, with the mercury dropping down to -6 C overnight on Saturday.

Snow ploughs and gritters were out in force, and most of the country’s major roads remained open, although there were a few closures and it was slow going on many minor roads. The police reported receiving a high volume of minor accident calls.

At sea, strong winds wreaked havoc, with gusts at 50mph in the Irish Sea causing the cancellation of fast ferry services between Dublin and Holyhead.

www.metoffice.gov.uk