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Heavy overnight snow in Wales and northern England has caused travel disruption as the new year gets off to a cold start.
On Sunday, the Met Office put in place an amber weather warning for snow in northern England, along with seven yellow warnings lasting into Monday, including three for snow and ice in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and the Midlands, one for snow in northern England, and two for rain in the south of England.
Although the snow turned into rain in much of the country, drifts accumulated in northern England, especially on higher ground. The Met Office said Bingley, West Yorkshire saw 17cm of snow up to 11am on Sunday, with Shap in Cumbria and Capel Curig, Conwy both seeing 10cm.
The amber warning for snow, covering most of northern England including Leeds, Sheffield and the Lake District, was in place until midnight on Sunday. The Met Office said some rural communities could be cut off, with up to 40cm of snow on ground above 300 metres, before conditions eased later on.
Leeds Bradford, Manchester and Liverpool John Lennon airports all closed their runways on Sunday morning due to heavy snow. Manchester reopened mid-morning after heavy snow around 7am, while Liverpool reopened at 10.15am. Leeds Bradford airport confirmed shortly after 2.15pm that its runway had reopened, but warned that disruption would continue throughout the day after a backlog built up.
Birmingham airport suspended operations for several hours overnight “for snow clearing and safety reasons”, but started the morning on schedule. Bristol airport reopened around 11pm after an earlier closure but warned of delays on Sunday morning.
Several roads roads were closed due to snow and flooding across England, National Highways reported, while National Rail warned of disruption continuing into Monday, with line closures and warnings not to travel on some northern routes.
The Environment Agency issued 15 flood warnings across southern England on Sunday, particularly in the west.
The National Grid reported several power outages across the country on Sunday.
Liverpool football club and Manchester United considered postponing their match at 4.30pm in Liverpool due to snowfall, but confirmed at midday on Sunday that it would go ahead.
UK Health Security Agency cold weather health alerts for all of England remain in place ahead of a week of low temperatures. Amber alerts were issued on Thursday and would run until Wednesday, meaning a rise in deaths was likely, the agency said.
Councils across London and southern England have introduced emergency measures for rough sleepers including additional accommodation.
The Met Office forecast the sleet and snow would continue to push north and eastwards on Sunday, falling heaviest in northern England and southern Scotland before turning into snow showers in northern Scotland arriving on Monday.
After a period of freezing rain, the south turned milder on Sunday. Frost and icy patches will continue through the early part of the week, but Monday and Tuesday will become drier with sunny spells and scattered wintry showers, although temperatures will remain below average.
The Met Office’s deputy chief forecaster Mike Silverstone said: “There is also the potential for some snow in southern and maybe central parts of England and Wales around the middle of the week, as a system brushes the south, bumping into the cold air. This is however still uncertain.”
