Hundreds of schools in the UK and Wales have closed for the day due to the hazardous weather, which began to snow on Saturday evening. Many awoke on Sunday to their homes covered in snow. For some families it’s all fun and games, but for drivers it just adds to the stress of their daily work life. Some were stuck in traffic for 6 hours or more, with much of the snow turning into ice causing hazardous conditions for drivers.
The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings of ice, as more than 140,000 homes lost power Sunday evening across the country. There is still a risk of up to 2 inches of snow in some counties, including: Kent, Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire while other areas are still dealing with the conditions left behind from the snow over the weekend.
Pete Williams, RAC road safety spokesman stated: "Drivers do need to adjust more to the conditions by slowing down and keeping a good distance," he said. "Winter tyres also help drivers to keep a grip."
"Journeys will take two to three times longer. It's going to be treacherous driving conditions,"
In Calais, many Eurotunnel passengers are handing freezing waits at services while trips to and from the UK were delayed yesterday. While on social media Eurotunnel insisted the wait was only 5 hours, according to many who travelled they had been waiting much longer than they were willing to admit to.
Eurotunnel says their usual services have resumed, but the weather does remain "very challenging" which is still causing some delays, there was also a major knock-off effect due to the grounding of a ship in Calais because of the turbulent winds.
Airports were also affected, with many flights cancelled from Heathrow due to many crews and aircrafts being off-schedule due to the conditions left by Sunday’s weather.
Most airports are suggesting they check the status of their flights before heading to the airport as most waiting areas have become incredibly overcrowded. Simon Calder, travel expert stated 50,00 British Airways passengers have found themselves stranded in airports in the UK and across the globe.
BA staff were re-booking customer flights onto the next option available and providing hotel accommodation.
However, many including Emma Hawkins on Twitter stated they were unable to re-book or even get in contact with support from British Airways. She said “The phone lines are just a recorded message that hangs up on you.”
This has been the worst snowstorm in Britain for 4 years, leaving many roads and public transport services closed. Some forecasters are predicting we could see more snow overnight as Britain braces for what is expected to be the coldest night of winter.