Công trình giao thông: UK braced for snow and heavy rain

Thứ Năm, 21 tháng 3, 2013

UK braced for snow and heavy rain

21 March 2013 Last updated at 17:21 ET

Woman walks dogs on Yorkshire Moors in March snow Areas of northern England have already seen significant snowfall in recent days

The miserable March weather is set to continue with intense rainfall and significant snowfall for Friday and into the weekend, forecasters say.

The Met Office has issued five amber warnings for snow covering much of the UK, and one amber warning for heavy rain in south-west England on Friday.

Worst-hit areas in northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland could see up to 40cm (15in) of snow.

The Environment Agency has meanwhile warned of flooding in southern England.

The agency has two flood warnings in place for the South West and more than 70 flood alerts have been issued for mainly southern parts of England.

Amber warnings, meaning the public should "be prepared" for extreme weather have been issued for Northern Ireland, Wales, north-west England and the entire Midlands.

'Blizzard-like conditions'

BBC weather forecaster Louise Lear said the "miserable March" weather is set to continue into the next few days.

"A weather front [from the south west] will push further north and east. It bumps into the colder air causing strong winds and heavy snow.

"The snow will be blown around by the strong south-easterly winds creating blizzard-like conditions to higher ground.

"We keep some milder air further south and west, but we keep the rain throughout [Friday] afternoon which could cause some problems."

The Met Office predicts up to 60mm (2in) of rain is possible in southern and south-west England, with the Environment Agency warning of "localised surface water and river flooding" in the affected areas.

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The agency has also warned that rivers in south Wales may rise steadily from Thursday evening, which could lead to a small number of flood alerts on rivers in Pembrokeshire and Monmouthshire.

A 41-year-old woman and her 17-year-old son were airlifted to hospital on Thursday by an RAF rescue helicopter after becoming hypothermic in poor weather conditions on Snowdon.

Scotland has already born the brunt of heavy snowfall, which made driving conditions hazardous and forced the closure of more than 100 schools earlier this week.

A Scottish government spokesman said: "Though we were enjoying record high temperatures around this time last year, we know that March normally brings us challenging weather conditions and this year is proving much more like the norm.

"Already this week our agencies and partners have dealt with amber snow warnings across much of the country, and we continue to do all we can to ensure Scotland is prepared for any potential weather disruption."

The forecast is set to improve for Sunday, with drier but colder conditions moving in, the BBC Weather Centre predicts.

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