Heavy snow and freezing conditions are expected along the east coast of the UK and south-east England, causing disruption on the roads, railways and in the air, as the “beast from the east” envelops the British Isles.

The Met Office has issued yellow and amber weather warnings for snow in England, Wales and Scotland on Monday evening and Tuesday morning, with accumulations of up to 15cm possible in some places, and temperatures at well below freezing.

Schools could close, passengers have been told to contact their airlines before travelling to airports, and train companies have warned of major disruption along the east of the UK. Motorists have been advised against all but essential travel while weather warnings are in place.

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NHS England issued a level 3 cold weather alert, one notch below a crisis level. Members of the public have been told to check on elderly neighbours and relatives during the freezing weather and look out for the homeless.

The Met Office warned that some rural communities could be cut off by heavy snow over the next few days, with power outages and disruption to mobile phone services likely.

School leaders said that the safety of pupils and staff should be their first concern during the freezing weather, and warned closures were possible.



Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), said: “Schools should stay open if they possibly can but safety concerns are the most important. If it’s not safe for the school to be open, then it is fine to close. It is a safety issue for us first and foremost.

“You have to take into consideration journeys at the beginning and the end of the day, as conditions may change whilst the school is open. It is important that staff and parents can get home at the end of the day as well.

“It is always about putting children’s safety first, and for schools to communicate with parents early, so that parents are not left in the lurch.”

On the trains, snow showers on Monday were enough for Greater Anglia to cancel dozens of branch line services in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, with cancellations and reduced services planned for later this week.

Blizzards, gales and freezing rain have been forecast for the end of the week as another weather system passes over the UK. Named Storm Emma by the Portuguese weather service on Monday, it will move north through Europe and is due to hit the UK on Thursday and Friday.



Met Office forecaster Frank Saunders said: “Parts of England and Wales are likely to see their coldest spell of weather since at least 2013, and possibly since 1991.

“This could lead to dangerous conditions on roads and pavements and have an impact on people’s health.”

Airport operators have said that disruption to services is possible, and asked passengers to contact their airlines before travelling.

British Airways has cancelled more than 60 short-haul flights either departing or arriving from London Heathrow in a bid to protect punctuality.

A number of other flights from the west London hub were delayed. BA is offering passengers booked on short-haul flights between Monday and Friday the chance to re-book for travel on a later date up to 21 March free of charge.

By the middle of the week, the majority of Britain is being warned of the potential for delays on the roads, trains and in the air. Amber and less severe yellow warnings for snow are in place from Tuesday to Thursday, with a further yellow warning for Friday across the east.

Temperatures of minus 5C (23F) over the weekend were the lowest recorded in the week leading up to 1 March, the first day of spring, since 1986.

The wind chill, which could make parts of the UK feel as cold as minus 15C (5F), will create temperatures that rival the forecast for parts of northern Norway and Iceland.