UK weather: Ice warning issued across capital as Heathrow passengers face third day of travel chaos after coldest night of the year

Londoners faced freezing temperatures and disrupted commutes
Jeremy Selwyn
Fiona Simpson12 December 2017

An ice warning has been issued across the capital as Londoners woke to freezing temperatures amid a third day of travel chaos.

Temperatures plummeted as low as -13 in some parts of the UK on what has been recorded as the UK's coldest night of the year, the Met Office said.

Freezing temperatures saw travel chaos extended into a third day with some flights out of Heathrow still grounded as unrelated delays swept the capital's rail network.

London is today set for another cold day as the mercury hovers around 0C with slight highs of 5C when rain sets in overnight.

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for ice and experts have urged commuters to use potentially slippery walkways and cycle paths with caution.

UK Snowfall: December 2017 - In pictures

1/41

Network Rail warned passengers to take care on slippery platforms.

The warning is in place until at least 11am.

The freezing temperatures come amid days of travel chaos for Londoners.

Passengers at Heathrow Airport faced a third day of travel disruption due to wintery weather.

Stunning sunset in London after day of sleet and snow

1/6

Dozens of flights were shelved on Monday and 16 departures are listed as cancelled for Tuesday with the airport advising passengers to check the status of their flight before travelling to the airport.

Standsted Airport advised customers to check with their airline before travelling.

A statement posted on Twitter read: “Passengers are reminded to check the latest status of their flight with the Airline before travelling to the Airport.

Snow fell on the capital for the second time in two days on Monday as temperatures hit close to -5C overnight
PA Wire/PA Images

“We continue advising passengers to keep up to date with traffic and transport updates and allow extra time for their journey due to the weather conditions.”

A spokesman for Luton airport said: “The airport is open and the runway is operational. Some flights may however be subject to delay and/or cancellation. We are expecting very low temperatures and further freezing conditions throughout the morning.”

While City Airport appeared fully operational.

Rail commuters faced travel chaos in the capital during morning rush hour with South Western Railway services delayed to and from Waterloo due to ongoing repairs after a track-side fire on Monday.

Three major Tube lines – the District, Circle and Metropolitan lines – were all severely disrupted due to signal failures and track faults.

Snow falls on Regent Street
Jeremy Selwyn

TfL rail routes were also cancelled and delayed due to a fault at Forest Gate.

Overnight, record lows of -13C in Shawbury, Shropshire, were noted overnight as the capital faced lows of -4.8C in Teddington and -4.2C in Kew Gardens.

Met Office meteorologist Craig Snell said: "It's still possible that it could go lower but in Shawbury we saw -13C (8.6F) which is the coldest night of the year so far.

"We have to go back to the night of February 13/14 2016 when we saw -14.1C (6.6F) in Braemar for the coldest before that.

"Kew Gardens in London had -4.2C (24F) and Teddington saw -4.8C (23F)."

He added that there was the potential for a "dusting" of snow on higher levels over coming days, and that there was a risk of problems caused by rain falling in already icy areas.

"It will take a good few days for the snow to melt away," he added.

Elsewhere in the UK, scores of schools are set to be closed for a second day as the cold weather continues to cause disruption.

All council-run schools in Birmingham were shut on Monday following the hazardous conditions, but the blanket closure is not in force for Tuesday.

Snow hit the capital on Sunday and Monday
Jeremy Selwyn

Nearly 80 schools are listed as closed in Staffordshire, with many citing untreated paths and fears that snow will have compacted into ice as reasons for keeping the gates closed.

Gloucestershire, which saw around 200 schools closed on Monday, will have 80 schools closed on Tuesday, while more than 90 will be closed in neighbouring Herefordshire.

Pupils at 123 primary schools and 25 secondary schools in Shropshire will have a second day off owing to the weather, while in Wales hundreds of schools will be shut on Tuesday, with Caerphilly and Powys particularly affected.

The TUC has called on employers not to force staff to make hazardous journeys into work, saying firms in areas of the country affected by the snowy conditions should have put out advice to their staff on what they should do when snow, ice and a lack of public transport prevents them getting in.

Policies should also cover what parents should do if schools close and they have no alternative childcare, said general secretary Frances O'Grady, adding: "It is essential that employers don't force staff to make dangerous journeys for the sake of presenteeism.

"For many employees the bad weather will have made their commute virtually impossible, but thankfully many bosses now have 'bad weather' policies so staff know what is expected of them."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT