Merseyside is set to be thrown into more chaos this week as icy conditions continue.
The region has woken up to snow and ice this week which has led to much disruption, from Merseyrail cancellations and motorway closures. With roads being branded as "dangerous" there has undoubtedly been much commuter chaos already.
But a cold weather warning has been issued by the government for the whole of England as icy conditions are expected to continue. A level three cold weather alert has been issued by the UK Health Security Agency, currently in force for the whole of England.
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This week, we have seen road traffic accidents on our roads as a result of the icy conditions, leading to bus routes being diverted and road closures. There were many delays on the Merseyrail network, particularly the Kirkby Line and Ormskirk Line.
Manchester airport also saw huge delays due to ice on the runways and many schools were impacted due to the traffic. But it is bad news for many, as people are being urged to expect more disruption this week.
According to the latest forecast from the Met Office for Liverpool, temperatures will average at four degrees on Thursday but it will feel like zero degrees. The weather is expected to turn very cold in the north west by tonight, with widespread frost and icy patches.
Friday will also see temperatures feeling around 0 degrees as a yellow weather warning for ice is in place. The Met Office warns that people should expect "some challenging travelling conditions" on Thursday night and into Friday morning.
Dale Hipkiss, National Network Manager at National Highways, said: "Freezing conditions bring so many hazards such as ice and snow and take every possible step to understand your journey in advance and allow lots of extra time when travelling to prepare for the unexpected.
"It is therefore always important to plan ahead for your journey, listen to the weather forecasts, and if weather conditions become challenging, adjust your driving behaviour and take extra care."
Pet owners are also urged to take extra precautions to protect pets including shorter walks for dogs, protecting cats from antifreeze and ensuring outdoor pets are protected from snow and cold winds.
Anyone using public transport are being urged to check before they travel.
Merseyrail acting Managing Director Jane English said: “We have had significant early morning disruption on the Merseyrail network this week. We know this is unacceptable and apologise to our customers. Friday morning may see more disruption, but we will be pushing hard to make sure our partners at Network Rail protect our infrastructure during this cold weather.
“Please check our website, app or social media to get the latest information about when services will start. We are hoping to get early services started as normal, but we are prepared for delays if the track is not in an acceptable state for passenger trains.”
Paul Owen, Director of Operations at Network Rail said: “We have put extra safety checks in place this week to keep passengers safe across our network. This has included running "ghost" trains prior to the start of service to ensure the track is safe and operating a special train that de-ices the electric third rail.
“Unfortunately, we are in a constant fight with the challenging conditions, especially freezing rain and snow, which means that even when we de-ice tracks, they have often thawed and re-frozen again before the morning.
“We’re aware of the most at risk areas and we’ll be focusing all our resources on them to avoid the disruption we have seen over the past few days.”
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