A blast of freezing weather from Russia, nicknamed the “Beast from the East”, is set to cause severe travel disruption as the UK is hit with heavy snow and bitter temperatures.
The Met Office has issued a series of yellow and amber weather warnings for snow between Monday and Thursday, with forecasters warning that winds will make it feel as cold as minus 15C during the day - colder than the Arctic Circle.
Snow is expected to cover most of the UK over the course of the week, with up to 20cm predicted to settle in parts of Scotland and the north of England.
London, the east of England and the West Midlands are also set to experience snow showers, with rural communities being warned they could be “cut off” by the severe weather.
Meanwhile, rail, road and air travellers are expected to be affected by the freezing conditions.
Greater Anglia warned passengers of a reduced service and possible cancellations from Monday evening, while Southeastern announced the potential for disrupted services due to “heavier snow” from 6pm.
C2C trains are expected to operate as normal until 9pm, “after which some services will be altered or cancelled”.
Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, wrote on Twitter yesterday: “The temperature is forecast to drop further this week. I’m in close contact with TfL who are working with London councils to keep London moving through the freezing conditions we’re expecting.”
Passengers were also advised to check before travelling and to allow extra time for journeys.
Met Office meteorologist Charlie Powell said: “The UK is on track for some really cold weather this week. It’s not going to be record-breaking, but it’ll be pretty exceptional – winds are going to make it feel minus 10C (14F) to minus 15C (5F) during the day.”
He warned that snow showers are expected to work their way across the east coast, moving across the country during Monday before reaching Wales.
“Winds are then going to strengthen and we could see some easterly gales through the eastern Channel and east Anglia by the middle of the week,” Powell continued.
“That’s going to make it feel really cold, daytime temperatures on Wednesday and Thursday will be struggling to get above freezing for most of the country.”
He added: “By Thursday evening, there are growing signs there could be some significant snowfall across southern England.
“Unusually for Britain, the snow is going to be quite dry, so it will blow around and gather in drifts and we could see some blizzard conditions.
“We don’t want to scare people, but people should make sure they are prepared for some seriously cold weather.”
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