UK weather – latest: Snow and ice warnings as Brits warned conditions ‘worse rather than better’

Amidst the Arctic blast, the Met Office has issued new advice on how temperatures are set to move over the coming days.

See the new graphs below:

Too many drivers ignored warnings to avoid non-essential journeys, National Highways suggested as many people spent hours stuck on the M62 in severe weather.

The Government-owned company responsible for England’s motorways and major A roads insisted it “threw everything” at keeping traffic moving but struggled due to the volume of traffic and drivers ignoring lane closures.

Asked if too many drivers ignored the weather warnings, National Highways operational control director Andrew Page-Dove told the PA news agency: “I think the volume of the traffic speaks for itself, particularly this morning. The M62 was queued back to Manchester. Personally, I probably wouldn’t have set out on a journey knowing that those conditions were there.

“Were all those journeys essential? I don’t know. I don’t think (the warning) was necessarily as well heeded as we would have liked it to have been.”

He went on: “As soon as you get vehicles that lose traction, then that just blocks the road and makes it impossible for our traffic officers, emergency services or indeed our snowploughs to get through.

“We threw everything at it that we had and I’m absolutely confident that we did everything we needed to do in terms of treatments, in terms of ploughing. It’s just the volume of traffic.

“The question for me really is what more can we do to get drivers to really consider whether or not their journey is necessary.”

National Highways attempted to keep M62 traffic moving by using just two lanes.

But Mr Page-Dove said some drivers ignored lane closed signs, leading to them becoming stuck. This “exacerbated” the situation, he added.

Patients at Royal Hallamshire Hospital were delighted to see a giant ‘get well soon’ message carved out in the snow on top of the car park opposite on Thursday.

The heavy snow in South Yorkshire may have caused travel chaos for some, but for those at Royal Hallamshire the inclement weather led to a message of hope.

“Proper good job, thanks to those who did it,” tweeted Paul Harris, 44, from Kidsgrove in Staffordshire.

Mr Harris, who has pulmonary arterial hypertension and raises money for Pulmonary Hypertension Association UK, told the PA news agency he attends the Sheffield hospital roughly every six months for check ups, and was on the 13th floor when he spotted the message in the snow on Thursday.

“It was decent!” he said.

“I don’t know how many rooms have that view but it’s the main profile of the hospital so there must have been probably 100 windows at least it could be seen from, easily.

“The amount of people who would have seen it is immense. So yeah, it was good!”

Sheffield is one of a number of locations in the UK which has been affected by the cold weather and snow.

The Met Office has issued three amber warnings for northern England, the Midlands, North Wales and Northern Ireland, where “significant disruption” to transport and power supplies is expected.

Four yellow warnings for snow also cover much of the rest of the nation, with the exception of South East England and western Scotland.

Twitter user Joe Dawson was another who spotted the message from opposite the hospital, tweeting “To the lads that have done this on the car park at the Hallamshire, you’ve really cheered everyone on NCCU-K1 up! Legends!”

The message, meanwhile, caught the attention of a number of social media users, such as Leila Johnston, who wrote: “Oh god I’m way too sleep deprived for this. Literally welling up.”

The Met Office has issued an update on the yellow weather warnings in place over the weekend.

As the UK continues to battle the Arctic blast that has swept ice, wind and snow across the nations, we take a look at today’s snow in pictures.

Here, we see cars being driven along a snow-dusted road in Lever Causeway, near Birkenhead, in north-west England:

Animals at Woburn Safari Park awoke to snowy conditions as Storm Larisa continued:

A cyclist makes their way through the snow in Tow Law, Co Durham, after heavy overnight snowfall:

A heartwarming message is written on top of a car park in the snow outside Royal Hallamshire Hospital:

As the cold weather continues, homelessness charity Crisis UK has advised on how best to help people sleeping rough in these conditions:

If you’re a dog owner, you know that going for a walk is the best time of the day for your dog - apart from mealtimes, of course.

But as winter conditions continue into March, the Met Office has issued a cold weather warning, predicting that a cold snap is expected to sweep the UK. Temperatures are forecast to plummet on Tuesday (7 March), touching -3C (28F) in Scotland and -2C in the northwest and east of England.

The frosty atmosphere might make some dog owners think twice before stepping out with their furry friends, but walks are still important for dogs to keep fit, stretch their legs and use up excess energy.

So how can you tell when it’s too cold to walk your dog, and what should you do to keep them warm?

Kate Ng has the full story:

The Met Office forecast for snow across the UK and icy weather both pose a challenge over potential damage to homes.

The Met Office has already issued a yellow warning for snow and ice, with more areas in the Midlands, much of Wales and the southeast, including London, under alert for snow on Tuesday morning as Arctic air sweeps across the country.

As conditions are set to worsen over the week, with thick snow set to cover several areas, homeowners could face large repair bills if they don’t protect their homes, experts warn.

Snow and ice can wreak havoc on homes, from frozen and burst pipes to roof leaks from heavy snow on the roof, all of which could result in costly repair bills, say experts.

“Wintry weather will always be challenging for our homes, but when spring is right around the corner, cold snaps can be unexpected and many people may not be prepared for the damage that cold weather can do to properties,” says Natalie White, head of brand communications at the find-a-tradesperson platform Rated People.

Read more:

The current heavy snow across the UK means drivers are facing icy roads and treacherous conditions.

The gritters are out but motorists are still being advised against making unnecessary journeys and to proceed with extreme caution when setting out proves unavoidable.

Read more: