Icy weather is here to stay
FREEZING weather causes severe delays and will be here for a whole week
BRITAIN was turning white yesterday as snow causing chaos in the North began to push South - set to leave most of the country covered by tomorrow.
Temperatures are expected to fall as low as -15°C (5°F) in some parts this week - colder than Denmark - and the grim conditions could last until the end of the month.
It puts the British Isles on course for its coldest winter in 30 years - and one of the coldest for 100 YEARS.
Motoring organisations have warned the freeze could destroy many of the country's deteriorating highways by creating giant potholes.
AA president Edmund King described some roads as "crumbling to pieces".
London cooling ... Trafalgar SqHe said: "The water from rain, sleet and snow has now seeped beneath cracks, frozen and expanded. As a result the surface has risen and the cracks have become worse, making the roads increasingly dangerous."
Up to eight inches of snow fell across parts of the country at the weekend. Councils in Scotland were already struggling to cope and have warned they face running out of salt and grit.
Hundreds of schools across several counties have been forced to remain closed.
Now London and the southern counties are to be hit again too.
By tomorrow the South West, Wales, Manchester and Lincoln will see a mix of sleet and showers which will then move slowly towards the South East including London and East Anglia.
Bitter ... Teeside blizzardForecaster Helen Chivers said: "Parts of Scotland will get down to -14°C (7°F) this week, very cold indeed.
"The rest of the UK can expect about -5°C (23°F) overnight and daytime temperatures of about -3°C (27°F).
"Most of the country can expect some snow within the next 36 hours.
"It's really freezing out there and even though we have issued severe weather warnings for much of Scotland, northern England and the Midlands, we are advising Brits all over to be extra vigilant."
Forecasters say the unusually cold weather is down to clear skies and weeks of Arctic winds.
The big chill yesterday froze the fountains in Trafalgar Square.
Meteorologist Stephen Davenport said: "So entrenched is this cold-weather pattern only a major upheaval in the atmosphere will bring something milder.
Should conditions continue then by March we might be looking back at one of the coldest winters in 100 years."
Meanwhile three policemen were praised after rescuing motorists, including a pregnant woman, trapped by snow drifting up to five feet on the North Yorkshire Moors.
PCs Andrew Marsden, Steve Leach and Traffic Constable Tony Call got to stranded cars near Hutton-le-Hole.
The weather brought fun, too. Skaters were venturing out on Whittlesey Wash, Cambs.
But safety experts said the water there was probably very shallow and warned people not to attempt to walk on ice.
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2794238/Snow-set-to-cover-the-country.html#ixzz0birMx9DJ
