Flood warning as more snow falls in parts of UK
- Published
In Perthshire snow ploughs have left 12 foot high snow drifts
Heavy snow is falling across parts of Scotland and England, amid warnings of flooding to come this weekend.
The Met Office has issued an amber warning for snow, meaning be prepared, across the Midlands, London and south-east England.
Flooding has caused major disruption in parts of Wales, with police and fire crews reportedly inundated with calls.
Snow is currently falling across parts of Scotland, northern England, the Midlands and into eastern England.
A number of incidents were reported on Friday, including:
- The runway at Leeds Bradford airport is temporarily closed due to snow
- Flights at Manchester Airport had to be diverted after snow closed one of its runways
- Rail services between Stockport and Buxton are delayed by up to 60 minutes due to signalling problems caused by heavy snow
- In Wales, the A4601 Bwlch mountain road is closed in both directions because of ice while the A48 Cowbridge bypass is closed westbound at Aberthin, in the Vale of Glamorgan, also because of ice
- Cheltenham racecourse officials are "confident" of holding their key Festival Trials Day event on Saturday, but will hold an inspection on Saturday morning
- North Yorkshire Fire Service said it had rescued a husband and wife from a snow drift on the North York Moors
- In West Yorkshire, the principal engineer at Kirklees Council, Stuart Hodgson, said they would have 32 gritters working across the area and 21,000 tons of rock salt available
- Heavy snow is causing problems for drivers in parts of south and west Cumbria, as local police advise drivers not to travel unless they have to - a number of vehicles have been unable to move because of snow on the A590 at Lindale and on the A592 by the side of Windermere
- There are lane closures on the M6 motorway through the county
In south-west Wales, flooding is causing major problems, particularly in Whitland in Carmarthenshire and Narberth, Haverfordwest, and St David's in Pembrokeshire.
Mid and West Wales Fire Service said it had received more than 270 calls on Friday evening, with "quite a large number of flooding incidents" across Pembrokeshire, Carmarthen and Swansea, including incidents of properties flooding and people becoming trapped in their cars.
Local councils have been asked to assist with sandbags and unblocking drains.
In Narberth, Pembrokeshire, residents are reported to be battling to keep water out of their homes, and roads in the area are flooded.
Local councillor Wyn Evans told the BBC that melting snow and torrential rain had caused "severe flooding and destruction" in the area.
"Even our police station has been flooded this evening and that's never ever happened before, so all our police officers had to relocate elsewhere," he said.
Milder weather
Met Office amber "be prepared" warnings for snow are currently in place for the Midlands, London and south-east England, and are valid until 03:30 GMT on Saturday.
The Met Office warned of up to 10cm (4in) of snow spreading from the west, but said sleet and snow were likely to ease before dawn.
A group of lorry drivers have been stranded in Dundee because of the snow for a up to a week
Yellow "be aware" warnings for snow and ice are also in place across most of the UK, valid until 04:00 GMT on Saturday.
BBC weather forecaster Steve Cleaton said there was a mixed picture: "When a weather front coming in from the west meets the cold air which has been hovering over the country the rain will turn to snow in Scotland, central and eastern England.
"But there will be heavy rain in Wales, western England and Northern Ireland."
He said several inches of snow had already been reported in Glasgow and Stirling.
Mr Cleaton said temperatures would rise over the next few days and, with the heavy rain in the west, there was the potential for flooding over the weekend in some parts.
The Environment Agency has warned of the risk of minor localised flooding in some areas due to the rapid thaw.
Flood risk manager Phil Rothwell said: "We are closely monitoring the situation and have teams ready to respond to any potential flooding. People should check out if they are in a flood risk area, and sign up to free flood warnings on the Environment Agency website."