Heavy snow hits flights as temperatures plunge across UK

Flights have been suspended after UK temperatures dropped to minus 10C in some places overnight.

Scattered weather warnings are in place across the country and Glasgow Airport said it had suspended all flights temporarily because of “heavier than forecast snow”.

“Flight operations are currently suspended due to heavier than forecast snow,” the airport said on X, formerly Twitter, shortly before 7.30am on Saturday.

“Our winter teams have been working through the night and we hope to resume operations as soon as possible.

“Please check with your airline for further flight updates.”

The Met Office has issued yellow warnings through Saturday morning for the northern coast and south-west Scotland, as well as the South West and the eastern coast of England.

Forecasters warn the snowy conditions could affect roads and railways, and there is an increased risk of injury from icy surfaces.

The mercury approached minus 10C in some places overnight, with Tulloch Bridge and Eskdalemuir in Scotland at minus 8C.

Temperatures are tipped to continue to fall over the weekend, with several sporting events cancelled.

Met Office meteorologist Annie Shuttleworth said it will be minus 3C or minus 4C for many towns and cities on Saturday.

She said: “There’ll… be some snow showers continuing across south-western Scotland throughout Saturday morning, mainly falling over the high ground above one or 200 metres, but there could be some sleetiness to lower levels across parts of the Lake District, for example, by lunchtime.

“Elsewhere, though we’ll see the mist and fog slowly clear, it could remain quite murky for a lot of the morning across central and eastern areas.

“The best sunshine will be across northern areas of Scotland, but further south and west, you can see things starting to change a little bit (by Saturday afternoon) with a greater risk of some showers.”

As winds shift to more south-westerly, temperatures should slowly rise through Saturday, feeling a little less cold in the South West.

“Elsewhere, though still feeling bitterly cold, not much above freezing,” she added.

“Those showers in the South West then do push further inland throughout Saturday night, and as they bump into the colder air, they could bring some snow to parts of Wales and central areas such as the Peak District, for example.

“There is a little of uncertainty with that one, but it’s only likely to bring a little dusting of snow by Sunday morning.”

The forecaster said the lowest temperature recorded on Friday was minus 9.4C in Shap, Cumbria.

The areas with the most snow were Aviemore in Inverness-shire with 5cm, Albemarle in Northumberland and Bingley in West Yorkshire with 2cm, and Loftus, Cleveland, with 1cm.

There was disruption to trains in the west of Scotland, with operator ScotRail posting: “The snow is affecting some signalling systems and staff are working as quickly as possible to rectify these just now.”

Crewe’s match with Bristol Rovers in the second round of the FA Cup on Saturday has been called off and rearranged for December 12, with the playing surface deemed unsafe.

A number of Scottish league matches were also postponed, including Dundee United’s trip to Morton and the game between Ayr and Arbroath at Somerset Park.

Saturday’s high-profile racing fixture at Newcastle, which was due to stage the return of the Constitution Hill, has been abandoned due to snow on the track.

The UK Health Security Agency and the Met Office have issued amber cold health alerts in five regions – the East Midlands, West Midlands, North West, North East and Yorkshire and the Humber – until December 5, meaning “cold weather impacts are likely to be felt across the whole health service for an extended period of time”.

Published: 02/12/2023 by Radio NewsHub