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Thứ Sáu, 22 tháng 3, 2013

Wintry weather warnings continue

More than 200,000 homes in Belfast were affected by a blackout, as Ed Thomas reports

Further warnings have been issued for snow, sleet and rain in parts of the UK, as the wintry weather continues.

After snow fell on Friday disrupting travel, schools and power supplies, more snow is forecast overnight into Saturday across central and northern parts of the UK.

Travel could be disrupted, and the snow is expected to spread to the South and South East of England.

On Friday a body was found after a landslip under a house in Cornwall.

The landslip happened after torrential rain in Looe.

The Met Office said the heavy rain in the South West would ease on Saturday.

Friday's weather saw hundreds of schools closed across Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England.

In Belfast more than 200,000 electricity customers were affected by a blackout on Friday evening.

Winter weather in spring

  • Caused by persistent easterly winds from frozen continental Europe which have chilled North Sea to 4C or 5C
  • Average temperature is currently around 3C - normally should be nearer 6C
  • Coldest March on record was in 1962 with a mean temperature of 1.9C, which will not be beaten this year
  • Could be colder than the more recent cold March of 1987 with a mean temperature of 3.3C
  • Forecasters say the cold could hang on until the bitter end of March

Northern Ireland Electricity said that at one stage the blackout swept across the whole of Belfast after an issue with the high voltage transmission network. All but about 40,000 properties had had power restored by late evening, it added.

It blamed high winds, cable icing and trees bringing down lines and breaking poles.

Julia Carson, NIE communications manager, said; "The severe weather is set to continue through tonight and into [Saturday] and we are likely to see further damage to network which will affect electricity supplies."

Slow-moving band

For Saturday the Met Office warned that there was "continued risk of significant disruption" from snow.

Its warning covered many central parts of the UK and involved a slow-moving band of rain, sleet and snow.

It said further significant snowfall was likely to accumulate on hills, with continued drifting and blizzard conditions in strong south-easterly winds.

Cyclists in central ScotlandHeavy snow in central Scotland did not deter some

At lower levels, some areas could see a further 5-10cm (2in to 4in) of snow, though exact location remain "very uncertain at this stage", it said.

Northern Ireland police warned of road closures due to snow, stranded vehicles and fallen trees.

In England, road users were advised to check the weather forecast and road conditions before they travel on Saturday.

The Highways Agency said the snow forecast for northern England, the Midlands and the East of England meant motorists should take extra care when travelling.

In Scotland, weather warnings had also prompted police and road authorities to warn drivers to take care, particularly in Lothian and Borders, Tayside, Grampian and Highlands and Western Isles.

Police also said motorist should avoid travelling by road in the Dumfries and Galloway area as conditions were "extremely dangerous".

Residents of Arran have been warned that they may be without power for up to three days, prompting Scottish Hydro have sent a portable generator to the island.

By late on Friday, power companies said a total of 14,000 customers in Scotland were left without power.

In Argyll, 10,000 households have been affected, as was Bute, with more cut off in south-west Scotland.

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UK forecast for 23/03/2013

Map Key

  • land colour Land
  • cloud colour Cloud
  • Lakes, Rivers & Sea colour Lakes, Rivers & Sea

Fog

Fog Colour Range

Light

Heavy

Frost

Frost Colour Range

Light

Heavy

Pressure Fronts

Cold Front Illustration
Cold

Warm Front Illustration
Warm

Occluded Front Illustration
Occluded

Rain

Rain Colour Range

Light

Heavy

Extreme

Snow

Snow Colour Range

Light

Heavy

Temperature tab only

Temperature (°C)

Temperature range chart

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Thứ Hai, 4 tháng 3, 2013

UK 'must adapt' for weather extremes

Gnome in flood waterSome river levels fluctuated between their highest and lowest levels within the space of four months

Britain must become more resilient to both drought and flooding, Environment Agency chairman Chris Smith has said.

New figures from the agency show that one in every five days saw flooding in 2012, but one in four days saw drought.

Rivers such as the Tyne, Ouse and Tone fell to their lowest and rose to their highest flows since records began, within a four-month period of the year.

Lord Smith said urgent action was vital to help "prepare and adapt" many aspects of Britain for such extremes.

Meteorologists fear that extremes of weather may increase as global temperatures slowly rise.

Met Office analysis has suggested that the UK could experience a severe short-term drought, similar to the drought experienced in 1976, once a decade.

Transferring water

With the population of the water-stressed south-east of England projected to grow by almost a quarter by 2035, Lord Smith argued that the number of smaller reservoirs needed to be increased immediately and that new ways of transferring water from areas where it is plentiful to areas where it is scarce must be established.

Lord Smith insisted the reservoirs would be needed not just by farmers, but also by commercial turf growers, golf clubs, sport stadiums and race courses.

There are currently about 1,700 small-scale storage reservoirs across England and Wales, supplying 30% of total irrigation needs.

He also said more homes would need to be protected from flooding.

Lord Smith said: "The extremes of weather that we saw last year highlight the urgent need to plan for a changing climate.

"In 2012 we saw environmental damage caused by rivers with significantly reduced flows, hosepipe bans affecting millions and farmers and businesses left unable to take water from rivers.

"But we also saw the wettest year on record in England, with around 8,000 homes flooded. Interestingly 2007, which saw some of the most severe flooding in recent memory, also started the year with hosepipe bans.

"More of this extreme weather will exacerbate many of the problems that we already deal with including flooding and water scarcity, so taking action today to prepare and adapt homes, businesses, agricultural practices and infrastructure is vital."

Boggy land

He pointed out that modelling suggests that a changing climate could reduce some river flows by up to 80% during the summer in the next 40 years.

Part of the UK’s flooding problem is due to previous policies.

For decades, farmers were paid to drain boggy land in order to improve it for grazing. This caused water to rush off the fields into rivers, whereas previously it would have been held in the bogs to smooth out the flow into rivers throughout the year.

In addition, many flood plains have been built on.

Follow Roger Harrabin on Twitter @rharrabin


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