Storm Goretti’s path: Tracker reveals where Arctic blast will dump eight inches of snow as whole of Britain faces ice warning TODAY
A new tracker has revealed where Storm Goretti will dump up to eight inches of snow in the UK, as an ice warning has been issued for the whole of Britain on Wednesday.
The Met Office has confirmed the storm will bring widespread snow, heavy rain and severe squalls to England and Wales this week.
Up to eight inches of snow will cover Hometown Counties on Thursday and Friday.
Snow is expected to form on higher ground in South Wales late on Thursday before the rain turns to snow more widely across England and Wales overnight.
London and the south-west are expected to avoid any significant snowfall, while Scotland will see further snowfall on Wednesday before it misses the impact of Storm Goretti.
The Met Office issued a yellow ice warning for much of the UK, including Northern Ireland, on Wednesday morning due to an Arctic air mass.
He warned people to avoid getting injured on icy surfaces and said slippery roads, sidewalks and cycle paths should be expected.
Forecaster Marco Petagna said: ‘With ice warnings beware of slippery surfaces and the possibility of injury, so be careful on footpaths.
‘Ice areas may affect untreated roads; all roads, sidewalks and cycle paths are not treated; So be aware that away from major highways there may be icy and slippery conditions for a while tomorrow morning.’
A new tracker shows the storm is sweeping across Britain, most aggressively in the south.
Storm Goretti will dump up to eight inches of snow on the UK, a new tracker has revealed
A car drives through the snow as people walk on Scotland’s Alford High Street on Tuesday evening
People enjoy the snow in Westminster on Tuesday afternoon as England is hit by severe weather
People walking in the snow on Tuesday after Aberdeenshire Council declared ‘major incident’
A five-month-old Amur tiger cub enjoys his first snow day at Knowsley Safari park on Merseyside
Pups Akira and Ozo embrace the winter conditions at Knowsley Safari park in Merseyside
The Met Office advised travelers on Wednesday morning to check road conditions, bus and train timetables and change travel plans if necessary.
A yellow warning means some disruption is possible, but most people can continue their daily routines, according to the forecaster.
The heaviest snowfall fell in Scotland, with 52cm (1ft 8in) recorded by the Met Office at Tomintoul in Banffshire, but there was also some snowfall in London on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, more than 1,000 schools closed across England on Tuesday due to snowfall; Heavy rain reached central London.
A bus crashed in Liverpool on Tuesday morning, leaving drivers and walkers stranded in deep snow in parts of Wales, with some even having to be rescued by military vehicles.
Some train services were canceled in Scotland and England due to heavy snowfall blocking lines and freezing points.
And a major incident was declared in Aberdeenshire, with the MSP calling for the army to be drafted.
Met Office predicted: ‘Storm Goretti’ [is] It is likely to bring heavy snowfall, causing disruptions and difficult travel conditions.
‘Heavy snow is likely to occur on higher ground in South Wales later on Thursday, before rain turns to wider snow across parts of England and Wales on Thursday night.
Join the discussion
How should Britain prepare for increasingly severe winter storms?
People walk through snowfall in Lumsden, Scotland, on Tuesday afternoon
A man clears snow from a road with a digger near Gartly in Aberdeenshire on Tuesday morning
A double-decker bus crashed onto the icy surface of Aigburth Drive in Liverpool on Tuesday morning.
The A97 in the Aberdeenshire village of Rhynie on Tuesday in heavy snow and icy conditions
‘5-10 cm of snow may accumulate in some areas, with the potential for up to 20 cm in some places, especially in higher elevations. Strong winds may cause some snow drift. Rain and snow will clear eastwards on Friday.’
The yellow weather warning from Thursday evening to Friday afternoon covers almost all of Wales and large parts of central England, including the cities of Birmingham, Nottingham, Peterborough, Oxford and Bath.
Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster Chris Bulmer added: ‘A deepening area of low pressure, named Storm Goretti by Meteo France, will move across the south of the UK between Thursday and Friday.
‘It will collide with very cold air here, which means Thursday night could be what we call a ‘multi-hazard’ event; There is snow on the northern flank of the low area, and wind and rain on the southern flank.
‘Therefore, we have issued a yellow warning for snow for parts of England and Wales, where heavy snowfall could lead to disruption and difficult travel conditions. Strong winds associated with Storm Goretti may also cause some disruption and so a yellow wind warning has also been issued for south-west England.
‘The exact course of the low is still uncertain and these warnings are likely to be modified and potentially increased in the coming days. That’s why it’s vital that people stay informed about the latest forecasts.’
Aberdeenshire Council declared a major incident on Tuesday after days of snowfall and more on the way. The local authority said it expected ‘significant long-term impacts’, including power cuts and transport delays.
He added that there was a ‘good chance’ that communities could be cut off from communication due to heavy snow, and announced that all schools in the district would be closed on Wednesday.
The government said the latest drop in temperatures had triggered cold weather payments for hundreds of thousands of households to help elderly and vulnerable people with heating costs.
Eligible households will automatically be paid £25 when temperatures are recorded or forecast to be at or below zero degrees for seven consecutive days.
The payments will support households in 451 postcode areas in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, including Penrith in Cumbria, Yorkshire Dales, Norwich in Norfolk, Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire and Crawley in West Sussex.
Cold weather payments were triggered on five separate days, 30 December, 1 January, 2 January, 3 January and 6 January, and were triggered twice in parts of Cumbria and Northumberland for households who would receive a £50 payment.
