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The heavy snowfall that has characterized this winter period across the UK continues to disrupt transportation all through the UK. Following the heavy snowfall, a number of major roads have been closed after stranded motorists had to be rescued by emergency services. It also proved to be a hectic night for emergency services after they had to deal with multiple crashes given the poor driving conditions caused by the weather. So far there have been four casualties of road related accidents.
The Beast from The East As the winter weather has come to be referred to has caused temperatures to plumate with lows of -150F(-70C) being recorded. The weatherman warns of further temperature decreases up to -50F(-150C) in the coming days. With the poor weather conditions, motorists have been asked to take extra care when on the roads. Commuters have also been asked to expect the current disruption of transportation via road, rail or air to persist until the end of the week. Areas in the North East have particularly been affected by the snowfall rendering a number of roads impassable. Fire and Rescue services in Durham and Darlington found themselves dealing with accidents in the current extreme weather conditions. Their most notable rescue was that of a Classic Mini that had crashed dangerously close to the edge of a cliff. Dartford has been forced to close down the A282 temporarily as vehicles were loosing traction on the QEII bridge. The scenario of roads police working tirelessly to free stranded motorists was replicated in Kent where roads authorties worked well into the night in order to free a number of lorries that found themselves stuck n the building snow.
The heavy snow has also caused a disruption in the education system with schools remaining closed as inches of snow continued to fall. The weatherman warns that this weather could persist for a while longer with the possibility of sleets, gales, and blizzards occurring thanks to Storm Emma as of Thursday this week. Another sector of normal life that is expected to be disrupted is the telecommunication sector. A disruption of phone networks is expected to happen with the rural areas being the most affected. In Newcastle, a major power outage resulting from an underground electrical fire has left many homes in the dark. In the current weather conditions, this could spell doom for residents that have delicate health conditions or for the elderly or even those who live by themselves due to the lack of central heating. Authorities in the area have appealed to neighbors and families of the residents in the area to try and check up on them to ensure that everyone is fine.
Warnings have been given for potential risk to life and property. Majority of the areas north of England and Scotland have been given an amber warning lasting 36 hours. The East Midlands and East of England have an amber warning lasting 28 hrs. A yellow warning lasting 18 hrs has been issued for a majority of the remaining areas in the UK.
