UK weather live: Roads flooded and trains cancelled as Met Office issues new snow and ice warnings – UK Times

The two flights most heavily delayed by Sunday’s airport snow closures in northwest England are finally in the air.

First away was easyJet’s delayed flight 2221 from Manchester airport to Sofia. The tardy take-off was at 10.10am on Monday, 28 hours later than originally planned. Passengers are due to arrive in the Bulgarian capital at 3.30pm.

Even more delayed: easyJet flight 3355 from Liverpool John Lennon airport to Alicante. Costa Blanca-bound holidaymakers left Merseyside at 10.44am, exactly 28 hours and 39 minutes behind schedule.

Passengers were told: “We’re sorry your flight has been delayed overnight”. They were offered hotel accommodation. The airline must also cover the cost of meals.

A number of weather warnings have remained in place for the majority of the UK on Monday morning, as more snow is predicted to fall across the country and flooding is expected.

Seven weather warnings for snow, ice and rain have persisted, with most set to remain until at least midday following a weekend of heavy snow for some.

Read more here on where freezing weather, flooding and snow will hit the UK:

The Met Office has issued two new weather warnings.

A yellow warning for snow and ice will come into effect at 5pm today, lasting until 10am tomorrow. It covers most of Wales and western England.

Meanwhile, a yellow snow warning covering much of southern England will last from 9am on Wednesday until the end of the day.

The Midland Main Line between Sheffield and London is blocked between Derby and Long Eaton because of flooding. Also in the East Midlands, flooding at Elton & Orston is disrupting trains on the Nottingham-Grantham and Liverpool Lime Street-Nottingham-Norwich routes.

East Midlands Railway says: “Heavy rain has flooded the railway on various routes. This is currently affecting trains on the following routes:

• Sheffield/Nottingham/London
• Newark/Nottingham/Derby/Crewe
• Matlock/Derby/Nottingham
• Liverpool Lime Street/Nottingham/Norwich
• Nottingham/Grantham/Skegness

“Network Rail are reviewing the water levels at the affected sites.”

The line from Bristol Parkway to Gloucester is also closed. Great Western Railway says: “Due to ongoing heavy flooding in the region, all train services have been suspended, and road transport is also unavailable in the affected areas. Current conditions are extremely hazardous, and travel is not recommended.”

On the day the London-Southampton main line reopened between Woking and Basingstoke following two weeks of engineering work – it promptly closed again due to a fallen tree and electricity supply problems.

South Western Railway is telling passengers: “Customers are advised not to travel between Woking, Basingstoke and Southampton. All main line routes are expected to be disrupted today, please check before you travel.”

A combination of melting snow and rain could lead to “significant river flooding” in areas of Lancashire and Warwickshire today, the Environment Agency has warned.

It advised people to stay away from swollen rivers and to not drive through flood water.

Tens of thousands of homes and businesses in Ireland are without water and electricity amid a bitter cold snap across the whole island.

The severe winter weather has led to the closure of some schools and some public transport restrictions as well as the cancellation of several healthcare services.

There are treacherous road conditions across the Republic of Ireland, with broad sections of the island experiencing below-zero temperatures.

Read the full story here:

After multiple airport closures across the UK, and with more snow forecast for the week, Britain’s two busiest airports are honing their “snow plans”. Severe weather shut both Heathrow and Gatwick airports shortly before Christmas 2010.

“At Snowfall T-4 hours, a conference call will be held by the Airside Tactical Team,” says the Heathrow plan.

If the snow gets heavy, the airport says: “Each runway will be suspended in succession to facilitate clearance and treatment.”

Meanwhile Gatwick recognises “seven snow states”. The climatic calibration ranges from “Met Office forecast snow in the next seven days but not expected to accumulate; no disruption to the operation of the airfield predicted” to “Snow is falling and accumulating in sufficient amounts to cause disruption”.

The Sussex airport has a team of winter volunteers are staff who are ordinarily employed elsewhere at the airport, many of them in security. They are on standby for airside snow clearance and are known as “polar bears”.

Seventy tons of grit and 80,000 gallons of de-icing fluid are waiting in the wings. If, despite all that preparation, flights are heavily delayed or cancelled? Gatwick’s “Snow Plan” includes provisions for sleeping areas with beds, blankets, food and water.

The airport says: “We have in stock 4,000 blankets, 600 mattresses, 8,000 bottles of water, 600 folding beds, 20 snow shovels, four baby bottle warmers, 10 travel cots and a mixture of baby food and nappies.”