UK households urged to gather mobile phone power banks on Thursday | Weather | News
Parts of the UK will face snow and ice on Thursday 20 November as temperatures drop towards freezing. The Met Office has issued numerous yellow warnings for snow, as well as the rare amber warning.
There are yellow snow and ice warnings in South West England, West Wales, Eastern England, North East England, South West Scotland and Lothian Borders, Yorkshire and the Humber, Northern Ireland and Northern Scotland. Meanwhile, an amber snow warning is in place for North East England, including Redcar and Cleveland, and Yorkshire and the Humber, including the East Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. There is a rare warning in place until 9pm on Thursday, with forecasters saying “Frequent showers leading to significant snow accumulations are likely to cause disruption on Thursday.”
The Met Office has warned that winter weather could lead to power outages in affected parts of the country. They are urging people to buy a mobile phone power bank if they are affected.
The forecaster said: “Power outages are likely and other services such as mobile phone coverage may be affected.”
He added: “People cope better with power outages when they prepare for them in advance. This is easy to do; consider packing flashlights, batteries, a mobile phone power pack and other essential items.”
According to the forecaster, “up to 15-25 cm” of snow could be seen at higher elevations in some areas covered by the yellow warning. Possible lightning strikes are expected, as well as “occasional snowstorms.”
The Met Office explained: “Frequent winter showers will feed inland from the North Sea, causing significant snow accumulation across parts of the North York Moors and Yorkshire Wolds.
“By the end of Thursday, as much as 15-25cm may have accumulated on hills above 100m, causing significant disruption. High winds creating occasional blizzard conditions and perhaps a few lightning strikes may accompany some showers, creating additional danger.”
People in the UK have also been warned to only drive if it is safe to do so. Drivers were warned that there may be travel delays on the roads and some vehicles and passengers may be stranded in snow and ice.
Forecasters also expect public transportation delays due to winter weather conditions. In the worst-affected areas, some services may be canceled entirely.
The Met Office continued: “It is safer not to drive in these conditions, but if you need to make an essential journey consider alternative forms of transport to keep yourself and others safe.
“If you must drive, do so in a safer way: by using dipped headlights; accelerating slowly, using low revs and shifting to higher gears whenever possible; starting in second gear to help the wheels slip; maintaining a safe and constant speed, maintaining distance from other vehicles; using a low gear when going downhill, avoiding braking unless necessary; swerving, not taking the steering wheel, and avoiding slamming on the brakes.”
