The United Kingdom has experienced its first significant winter blast, with snow, blizzards, ice, and freezing temperatures affecting large parts of the country. Hundreds of schools were closed, roads were blocked or treacherous, and the Met Office issued multiple weather warnings, including a rare amber alert for parts of North Yorkshire.
The amber warning, covering the North York Moors and the Yorkshire Wolds from 3am to 9pm on Thursday, warned of occasional blizzards and up to 25cm of snow on hills, likely to cause substantial disruption. Eight separate yellow snow and ice warnings also covered areas including Devon, Cornwall, Kent, the east coast, East Anglia, north-east England, south-west and north-west Wales, Northern Ireland, and northern Scotland.
Schools closures were widespread: over 90 in Aberdeenshire, 36 in Pembrokeshire, 14 in Carmarthenshire, and seven in Ceredigion in Wales. Around 30 schools in North Yorkshire, eight in East Yorkshire, and several in Northumberland also did not open. Roads closed included the A171 and the A169, with police advising only essential travel in North Yorkshire and Pembrokeshire warning of extremely hazardous conditions.
The cold night saw temperatures drop to -6.6C at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire, -6.4C in Sennybridge, Powys, and -2.8C in County Antrim. The Met Office warned that temperatures could fall to -10C in rural Scotland on Thursday night. The UK Health Security Agency's amber cold health alert remains in place for northern England until Saturday morning.
Attractions such as Ryedale Folk Museum closed due to snow for the first time in ten years. The Met Office noted that 'thundersnow' was observed in Aberdeenshire and off the north-east coast. Drivers were advised to slow down and allow extra time, with stopping distances increasing tenfold on icy surfaces.
