The Met Office has warned a second cold snap will hit the country early next week with freezing temperatures expected to strike Britons across the UK. While the snowfall that has blanketed most of Britain this week is anticipated to subside over the weekend, the Met Office has warned that many areas will likely experience a return to colder weather in the first half of next week. This week has seen a phenomenon of low pressure, dubbed Storm Larisa by Météo France, passing across a large portion of England and delivering heavy snowfall to several areas over the last few days.
The temperature dropped to -13.6C (7.5F) due to Storm Larisa’s snow drifts, ice and stinging winds, in large areas of the north of England. The Midlands are already impassable due to heavy snowfall.
The Met Office said that approximately 11 inches of snow fell on Capel Curig in North Wales on Thursday, leaving thousands of motorists stranded in their vehicles or even abandoning them in order to find refuge.
Mountain rescue teams were even rushed to the M62 on Thursday night to assist some vulnerable drivers and passengers after some were found to be stuck in their cars for up to eight hours through Friday morning.
Palwasha Afzal was stranded for more than seven hours, while Emma Hamilton, a 28-year-old NHS employee from Yorkshire, was stuck on the M62 for eight hours as she travelled from Manchester.
After attending Old Trafford for Manchester United’s European match against Real Betis, Haroon Tariq of Bradford, West Yorks, got trapped on the M62 from approximately midnight until nearly three in the morning on Friday.
Met Office Chief Forecaster Jason Kelly forecasts the “worst of snowfall in England is over for now” but warned that “further warning will be in force”.
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According to Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster Daniel Rudman, there is an “increasingly strong signal” for colder air to once more enter the UK’s north on Monday.
Most of the UK is set to see cooler conditions overnight and into Tuesday as this flow extends southward.
Mr Rudman said: “Tuesday is set to remain a cold day, but it is not expected to be as cold as conditions have been this week, and there will be brighter periods for most.”
