Parts of northern England and Scotland awake to thick blankets of snow while south coast is hit by downpours

One of the last nights of 2017 was also one of the coldest as temperatures reached as low as -12C (9.8F) on Thursday night, and there were forecasts of heavy snow, ice and strong winds for much of the UK on Friday.



The lowest temperature was recorded at Loch Glascarnoch in the Highlands, while most parts of the UK dipped below freezing, leaving ice a potential hazard as the country got moving on Friday morning.

Parts of northern England and Scotland awoke to thick blankets of snow, while the south coast was hit by torrential downpours and lightning. Roads were flooded and strong winds damaged buildings, felled trees and left homes without power.

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Emma Sharples, a Met Office meteorologist, said it was “quite a narrow band of squally conditions” that had spread across the south and south-west. . Western Power Distribution said more than 1,900 homes across the Midlands, south-west and Wales were without power on Friday.

Further north there was snow across Yorkshire, the north-west, north-east and in southern and western parts of Scotland. Glasgow had the heaviest snowfall: more than 10cm (4in) of snow was recorded in Bishopton, and the city’s airport had to suspend flights temporarily.

Sharples said 7cm fell at Redesdale Camp in Northumberland, 4cm in Bingley, West Yorkshire, and 4cm in Spadeadam, Cumbria.

Met Office forecasters had said some rural areas of England could find themselves cut off on Friday morning and it put amber snow warnings in place, but by Friday afternoon they had been replaced by less severe yellow warning for ice.

The ice warnings covered most of Scotland and northern England on Friday and Saturday, with a further yellow warning for heavy rain in south-west England and south Wales on Saturday and Sunday. High winds are expected to hit central and southern Scotland and all of Northern Ireland later in the weekend.

Mountain rescue teams were on high alert across West Yorkshire on Friday. Blizzards made for treacherous driving conditions on some of the region’s busiest roads, including the M62around Rishworth Moor in West Yorkshire – the highest motorway point in England. Police posted a picture of a 4x4 that appeared to have spun out of control and careered into a grass bank.

The wintry conditions brought traffic to a standstill in parts of Flintshire, north Wales, where frustrated drivers complained of long tailbacks on the A55, the region’s busiest road.

NW Motorway Police (@NWmwaypolice) Pictures from our #ME21 @gmptraffic J22 M62WB - Classic line by driver, don't know why it skidded as it a 4x4! DOH! - Please Slow down and drive to the conditions. pic.twitter.com/FsjOaA0uf6

Highways England issued a severe weather warning on Friday and urged people to plan their journeys, monitor weather reports and pack a snow kit of blankets, food, water and a shovel if they really needed to travel.

The RAC said it expected to attend a breakdown every 10 seconds on Friday. Its traffic spokesman, Rod Dennis, said: “Some northern regions are set to see further snowfall in the early hours, making driving conditions very difficult if not impossible where the heaviest snowfall occurs. Drivers in the areas likely to be affected should consider delaying their journeys if they are not absolutely essential, as some disruption is likely.”