Dog walkers in London’s Hyde Park after an overnight sharp frost
(Picture: AP)Londoners are braced for more sub-zero temperatures this week after one of the coldest December nights recorded in nearly 10 years.
Plummeting temperatures could bring snow next week as the capital gets battered by a weather front of Arctic air from Norway, dubbed the Troll of Trondheim.
Temperatures hit their lowest point in England for December in almost a decade, it was reported last night, with Benson, Oxfordshire reaching a low of -8.2°C.
In West London, police issued an appeal for drivers to be wary of icy roads after a car overturned in Ealing.
#WestArea @MPSSpecials were out last night assisting our Emergency Response Police Teams across @ealingMPS @MPSHounslow and @MPSHillingdon answering 999 calls.
— Ealing Police (@ealingMPS) December 9, 2022
One of the calls that they attended was for a RTC in #Ealing, please remember to drive carefully in icy conditions. pic.twitter.com/dcCyAYvrdL
Brits woke up to a blanket of snow in parts of County Durham, with the Met Office predicting up to six inches still to come in the coming days.
The BBC reported that London could also begin to see snow from Wednesday, when sleet showers are forecast for some parts of the capital including Croydon and Richmond in the afternoon.
The threat of power cuts also increased with The National Grid “on standby to take enhanced actions” this weekend after wind levels dramatically dropped, according to the Daily Telegraph.
A spokesman for the company said: “Margins are expected to be tighter this week, particularly for the next few days. This is based on our current assessment and is subject to change.
“Our control room has a range of operational tools available to manage this. These actions also include our enhanced actions.”
The Met Office extended a yellow weather warning for snow and ice in northern Scotland until 12pm on Sunday.
Yellow warnings for ice in coastal and northern England and parts of Wales and Northern Ireland have also been issued for Friday.
The icy conditions in coastal England and parts of Northern Ireland and Wales are expected to continue into Saturday, it warned.
It said icy patches on untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths are likely to cause disruption.
Scotland is braced for freezing temperatures, with warnings they could drop as low as -10°C overnight in some areas.
Many schools in Aberdeenshire were closed on Thursday and some schools in the Highlands were partly shut on Friday.
Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist, Jason Kelly, said: “Through the weekend and into next week cold weather will continue, with an ongoing chance of wintry showers – mainly for coasts – and freezing fog patches inland. An area of low pressure may then threaten southern and southwestern parts of the UK through mid-week.
“Confidence in the exact track of this system is low, but should it push precipitation into the UK, then this would readily turn to snow, with a lower chance of freezing rain.
“How far north the milder air gets is also open to a lot of uncertainty, but for now, many central and northern areas are likely to remain in the Arctic air mass.”
The icy snap comes as people on the lowest incomes in hundreds of affected postcode districts in England and Wales are set to receive a £25 cold weather payment.
But Adam Scorer, chief executive of National Energy Action, said the Government must do more, adding: “Millions will have been dreading the onset of winter.
“Impossibly high prices and now cold weather will leave millions struggling to stay warm and safe at home.
“Our figures show that 6.7 million UK households are fuel poor after energy prices have almost doubled in a year.
“We hear daily from people who are forced to turn their heating off when they need it the most.
“We will now start to see just how bleak this winter is going to be.”
