Somerset hills covered in snow as freezing temperatures arrive for the week
We may be coming off the back of the second warmest year on record but it seemed a distant memory yesterday as a blanket of snow covered most of the South West.
The unseasonably warm winter weather came to an abrupt end with snow falling mainly over the Gloucestershire and Somerset hills – with accumulations of five centimetres on Exmoor. Low-lying areas in the South West and Gloucestershire also had snow fall.
Although there are clearer skies to come, the sub-zero temperatures are set to continue for the rest of the week. The Met Office has issued a warning of severe cold weather across much of England until at least Thursday.
For the rest of the week temperatures will plummet to -3C at night and will struggle to reach more than 3C in the day.
Dan Williams, spokesman for the Met Office, said the freezing temperatures overnight might make icy conditions a problem on the roads this week.
He added that while there is no more snow forecast for this week there is a risk of frost overnight with rural areas in the South West likely to be the coldest.
Chris Tubbs, chief forecaster at the Met Office said there is a high pressure system over Eastern Europe trying to push cold air in from the east, while milder Atlantic air is trying to push in from the west.
“Colder air is set to win over the next few days but milder weather could still return.”
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Comments
by supertony731
Tuesday, January 31 2012, 12:29PM
“Certainly no problem with the roads this morning going over the hills. Still a bit of snow about on the hedges and grass verges, but the roads were fine”