As arctic weather conditions continue to sweep across the United Kingdom, two school buses have been involved in crashes on icy roads, resulting in injuries to nine children and nine adults. The incidents occurred in Wokingham, Berkshire, and Kent, with one adult and a child taken to Royal Berkshire Hospital for further treatment.
The Met Office has extended a yellow weather warning for snow and ice until midday on Thursday for Scotland and the north of England, before the arrival of Storm Goretti later in the week, which is expected to bring heavy snow and strong winds. Hundreds of homes in the north of Scotland have had their power restored after morning outages, as the region struggles with heavy snowfall that has cut off many rural areas, disrupted travel, and forced hundreds of schools to remain closed.
Despite the severe weather, the Scottish government has reported that progress is being made on road clearance, with the trunk road network open and most local roads passable with care. All rail routes are now open, except for the Far North between Invergordon and Wick or Thurso, which is expected to open later today. All Highland and Islands airports are also open with no issues reported, and ferry services are operating normally.
However, the rest of the UK is bracing for further stormy weather, with the Met Office chief forecaster, Neil Armstrong, describing Storm Goretti as a “multi-hazard event” that will bring heavy rain, strong winds, and snow from Thursday. Forecasters predict 5-10cm of snow in Wales and the Midlands, with 15-25cm in some places, and a potential for up to 30cm locally. Strong winds with gusts of 50-60mph are also expected to affect south-western areas on Thursday afternoon and evening, with gusts of 60-70mph along exposed hills and coasts.
The Met Office has issued a yellow snow warning for a large part of England and much of Wales, effective from 6pm on Thursday until midday on Friday. An amber warning for heavy snow has also been issued, covering parts of Wales, the Midlands, and South Yorkshire, from Thursday evening into Friday. Forecasters warn that Goretti could lead to delays or cancellations to trains and planes, cut off rural communities, and cause power cuts or disruption to mobile signals.
The recent drop in temperature has also triggered cold weather payments for hundreds of thousands of households in the UK, designed to help elderly and vulnerable people with heating costs. The UK Health Security Agency has extended amber cold health alerts for England as an early warning that adverse temperatures are likely to affect health and wellbeing, running until Sunday.
